Do What You Have to Do
by ilovewent
Summary: Sara has been betrayed one time to many. Can Michael gain entrance into her shell of truse once more? PREVIOUSLY POSTED, THEN DELETED. Please review, ill post more if i get reviews.
1. Chapter 1

Well this is my first prison break fic. I am obsessed with that show, so I though, why not write a story about it. This story has some info from season two, but I pretty much changed it to how I wanted it to be. Like veronica dying does not happen, and they also manage to break out LJ. Anyways, enjoy. :  
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Chapter 1

Sara Tancredi sighed and looked at her clock above the mantle. It was 7:30 on a Friday night, and she was at home, in pajamas and eating a bowl of chocolate fudge bar crunch ice cream, while watching some angsty love story. She smiled bitterly as the man professed his undying devotion to her and the woman happily accepting it.

"Don't listen to the bastard. He's cheating on you." She said to the tv, but of course, the television would not listen to her. She rolled her eyes and changed the channel.

_And in other news, the eight escaped convicts of Fox River State Penitentiary are still at large, yet have somehow disappeared. The public should know they are potentially armed and extremely dangerous. The escape…_

Sara changed the channel. The press was just repeating the same information for the past three weeks. Ever since she got out of the hospital…and was arrested. Thankfully there hadn't been enough charges to convict her, but still. She quit her job at Fox River, and was currently unemployed. She had enough money to get by though, for a few months, so she was alright for now. Unwillingly, her thoughts slid to Michael. _Stupid Michael Scofield and his stupid escape. Stupid me for thinking he cared._ She sighed. Everyone was always lying to her. Her ex-boyfriends, her father…Michael. She stood up and stretched, then went to bring her bowl to the kitchen. She was halfway there, when someone knocked on the door. She smiled. Paul was here, finally. He had promised to stop by tonight, and he was really her only good friend, other than Katie. Holding her empty bowl, she walked to the door, and without checking the peep hole, opened her door.

"Hey Paul. I…" Sara stopped in her sentence. For in fact, standing in front of her door, was not Paul Kellerman, but Michael Scofield. He looked at her for a second. "Who's Paul?" was his immediate question. She stepped to the side and let him in.

"What the hell are you doing here Michael!" she demanded of him, while shutting the door.

"Who's Paul?" he questioned again

"We're dating. Not that it's any of your concern. Why the hell are you here?" He closed his eyes and looked towards the floor while stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I heard about what happened, and I wanted…no I needed to see you. How long?" he asked, while chancing a glance at her face. She wasn't looking at him, but staring at the microwave clock.

"How long what?" she asked irritably, though she thought she knew.

"How long have you two been…dating." He said, forcing the sentence out. Sara thought for a moment. "Two weeks. He was the only one. The only one who approached me after I got out. I had pretty much lost all of my friends, well except for Katie." She chuckled sardonically. "Yea no one wants to be friends, yet alone have a relationship with, lets see how did they word this, 'the governors druggie daughter who slept with the leader of the escape and then left the door open for said leader.' Paul is the only one who cares." She finished bitterly.

"He's not the only one." Michael said sadly.

"Oh please Michael, don't even act like you care. All you needed from me was access to that damn infirmary, and then my damn keys. That's the only thing you had ever cared about. So don't give me that bull shit excuse that you did care. All guys are the same. They use you for their own personal gain, and don't give a crap about you." She said bitterly. "The exception is Paul." She added as an afterthought. Suddenly someone knocked on her door. "Shit he's here. You can just…go and hide in my closet or something, and then you can leave after he leaves. She waited until Michael had shut the door to her hall closet before walking to her front door and opening it.

"Hey Paul." She said happily, giving him a quick peck on the lips, making the kissing sound extra loud so Michael could hear it. "I missed you."

"Sara. You're looking absolutely wonderful this evening." Said Paul back to her, while walking into her apartment and shutting the door.

"Ha, I'm just in my pajamas silly. You're the one looking wonderful. Why so dressed up?" she asked, while walking over to her window and looking out at the starry night sky.

"Oh, remember that meeting I told you about. Well we all decided on something," he started while reaching into the inside of his jacket pocket. "And that's that you need to tell me where Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows are, right now. And I might just spare your life." He said coldly while pointing the gun straight at her. It took a moment for Paul's words to sink in, but when they did, she spun around and swallowed as she saw the gun pointed at her.

"You…you lied to me?" she asked, her voice uncharacteristically weak.

"Answer the question." He demanded, cocking the gun. In the closet, Michael heard everything and started looking around frantically for anything that could knock out another person. He finally found an iron lamp with the light shade taken off, and tried opening the door quietly.

"I…I don't know where they are." She said, on the verge of tears.

"Don't lie to me Sara. I know you've been in contact with Scofield. That little paper crane, yes that's right I took it, it has his prints and his handwriting all over it. I know you two had a thing for each other, and I know you know where he is. I'm giving you to the count of three. One…" Silent tears started falling down her cheeks, but then she saw Michael walking out of the closet with an iron lamp in his hands. "Two." He continued his countdown. "Come on Sara. I'm giving you a chance to save yourself. Is it going to be you, or Scofield and Burrows." Sara still wasn't saying anything. "Alright, you know, you were a really nice person to know, but…I guess, well goodbye Sara Tancredi. Three."

BANG.

Paul Kellerman slumped to the floor, unconscious, and Michael stood behind him in a cold fury. He had hit him right in the side of the head. Sara stood there in shock, and then slowly sank to her knees. Her face was white. "Oh my God." She said. Michael walked over to her, and knelt in front of her.

"Sara. I need you to come with me. I'll keep you safe. Please." Michael pleaded with her. "Please. I know you have no reason to, but I need you to trust me, just this once." He said, when she still hadn't answered him. She looked at him, then stood up and went to her room. "Sara?"

"I have to pack a bag of stuff. Can't you wait?" she answered furiously. Michael nodded, and then started looking for something that he could tie up Kellerman with. He finally found a lamp cord, and tied his wrists and ankles up, just in case he woke up any time soon. Sara came back out with a small bag of items, and went and stood near the door. She wouldn't look at him. Michael stood up and walked over towards her, reaching out to touch her shoulder, but she moved away. He let his arm stay like that for a second, then dropped it down to his side again. "I have a car here." He said, with obvious disappointment. And with that, Michael opened the door, checked the outside of her apartment, and then proceeded to the end of the hallway. They made it to his car without incident, and they both got in the car and sped off. The car ride to the safe house was silent, except for the occasional sniffle from Sara's side. Michael kept looking at her out of the corner of her eye, and saw tears streaming down her face. She wasn't even bothering trying to wipe them away. She felt horrible. They finally arrived at their destination: a beat down warehouse. Michael got out of the car and went to Sara's side to open her door, and then he held out his hand. Sara looked at it, then brushed it off and got out of the car on her own. Michael looked down to the ground, then dropped his hand to his side. Sighing, he went to the back of the car and got Sara's bag out, then proceeded to the back of the warehouse. He knocked three times, waited for a few seconds, then knocked two more times. Lincoln opened the door immediately.

"Finally Michael. We were beginning to get…what's the doc doin' here?" he asked, for he had just noticed Sara and her tear streamed face.

"I had to bring her here. Someone…tried to kill her." He said, while walking into the warehouse. Sara walked in, and took a moment to look at her surroundings. It was small, dark and dirty. Exactly how she felt. Suddenly Veronica walked into the room, closely followed by LJ.

"Hey Michael how did…Sara?" she said with concern. Sara looked at her and went and sat down at the small dingy table. Veronica gave all the guys a look, and they all left the room to go downstairs to the basement. Michael went last, throwing one last glance at the pair of them. Veronica could see the pain and caring etched in his features, and she knew that he loved her.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" she asked hesitantly. Sara sat there for a second, then shook her head. Veronica looked at her, and then asked if she wanted a cup of coffee. Sara looked at her, and then said, "that would be good." So Veronica went in the kitchen and brought out two cups of coffee. Sara stared at her cup of coffee.

"It seems," she started quietly, "that every man in my life has used or lied to me for one thing or another. When I was younger and worked in the hospital, my so called 'boyfriends" would ask me for drugs. And I would always get them for them. Because I thought that they cared for me. In the end though, they always left me. My father. He was never there. Never ever. And when he was, I had to do everything that he wanted me to do. He only cared about his career. Never me. Then I met Michael. I thought that I had him figured out, but in the end, he just used me as well. He never cared. Not at all. I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to die, because I knew that no one would ever care for me. And it hurt. Knowing that I was alone. After I overdosed, my father never even came to visit me. The only time he came was when he came to bail me out after I was arrested. And that was basically to tell me that he no longer wanted anything to do with me. I really wished that I had died at that moment. Maybe then he would have felt some remorse." Tears started falling over from her eyes again, falling into her untouched coffee. Veronica reached over and held her hand. "Finally, when I got into rehab, I met a guy. He was sweet, and he seemed to care for me in a way that no one had. I gave myself up to him. I gave him me. Fucking jerk. Tonight, he came to my apartment. He pulled a gun on me asking where Michael and Lincoln were. I didn't know. He was going to kill me. If Michael wasn't there, than I would be dead. I wish he wasn't there. I would be dead right now." She stared at her coffee. "And no one would care." She added as an afterthought. She smiled bitterly. "So theres my messed up life story. I should write a book. The Fucked Up Life of Dr. Sara Tancredi. Ha." Veronica stopped her at that point. "Sara. I can name four people that care about you. They all live in this house. Myself, Lincoln, LJ, and Michael…"

"Michael didn't give a shit about me." Sara said bitterly. Veronica just let it go, for now. "We all care for you, because you helped give us our family back. And even though you might not think it, we consider you as family. And Sara," Veronica started, hesitating, she plunged on, "there are only four people in this entire world that Michael cares about. Lincoln: he broke him our of prison; LJ: he helped Lincoln break him our of custody just hours after they escaped; Myself, because of Lincoln, and…"

"His wife." Interrupted Sara bitterly.

"No. You. I see it in his eyes. He's in love with you. I'm sure he would have wanted to tell you that himself, but I cant let you tear him down knowing what I know. And," she let out a dry laugh, "I don't exactly think that you would let him tell you that, from what I heard." Sara looked up from her coffee. "What has he told you?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing really. I can just pick stuff up. He ruined his life to help Lincoln, and I think that he thinks he ruined any chances he has with you. And it's killing him. He was really depressed after hearing that you almost died. It took a lot of force to stop him from tearing off to the hospital to see you. If we weren't here, he would have. What I'm trying to say is, if Michael didn't care, I don't think that he would have risked his freedom to come and see you. He wouldn't have gone to your house. He would have waited until a few years had passed to thank you, or apologize, whatever he was planning on doing tonight." Veronica explained. Sara sat there for a few minutes, taking in all the information.

"I don't think that I can trust another man. Every man I had ever known has lied and/or used me." She half smiled. "I'll just be alone for the rest of my life. Come and visit you guys on Christmas or something. Devote myself to work. Not go out and meet anyone."

Veronica sighed. "Well I guess you and Michael have something in common. I heard him telling Lincoln that he's never going to meet anyone, because all he wanted was you."

"Thanks for listening to me." Sarah said. "It really feels a lot better having this off of my chest." She stood up, as did Veronica, and she gave her a friendly hug. "We're always here for you." Veronica told her. "Whatever you need, come to us."

"Thanks." Sarah said, fighting back tears. She was actually sort of happy she hadn't died. That Michael had been there to save her.

"Now, if you wanna hear some big news, then come on downstairs. I wanted to say it right when Michael got here, but family comes first." She smiled. "Come on." So Sara and Veronica walked on downstairs. Michael looked up and saw them, and immediately stood up to give the girls the couch, and he went and stood by the wall in the dark, watching Sara. She looked better than she had been. He had to remember to thank Veronica. He then turned his attention to Veronica, for she had just started speaking.

"I found Terrence." She started happily. "He's living the comfortable life in Blackfoot, Montana. I went to his house, saw him through a window. I knew it would be stupid to go in there, so I left and called the police. I stayed around for a bit hiding out, and saw the police come and take him away. I heard him starting to spill everything. I mean everything about this damn conspiracy. What I'm trying to say, is, Lincoln, LJ, you both are going to be free. I went to the judge after the police took Terrence away, and everything is going to be cleared tomorrow. It's all over." She said happily as Lincoln swept her up in a hug, closely followed by LJ. Michael walked over and joined the happy hug as well. Sara just sat, and watched the happy family. Lincoln noticed this.

"Come on, Sara. You're family too." He got out of the big four way hug, grabbed Sara, and gave her a big hug. "Thank you for doing everything that you did." He whispered in her ear. LJ came over next and gave her a hug as well. "Thanks for helping my dad and uncle," he said happily, and Veronica closely followed, enveloping LJ and Sara in her grasp. "Oh what the heck." Lincoln mused happily, and went back to the growing group around Sara and put his arms aound everyone. "Come on, Mike, there's plenty of room for the mastermind. Michael walked over hesitantly to the only free space in the little group around Sara. He looked at her face, but she still wouldn't look at him. Nevertheless, he wrapped his arms aound his family. "What about Uncle Mike?" LJ suddenly asked. They all let go unwillingly, and looked towards Veronica.

"I talked to the judge about him, and explained everything. He still has to go to a hearing, but the judge is pretty sure that he'll get off with probation. He did it all for the greater good. He still has to turn himself in though. In the next twenty-four hours." Veronica finished happily. "We can all finally be one big happy family." Lincoln laughed heartily, then went over to his little brother and gave him a huge hug. "They better give him probation. He ain't goin' back to Fox River, or any other prison. I'll sue anything I can if they do that. The court, the judge, the police, the government, anything and everything if they so much as hint that he's going back to prison." Sara smiled to herself. It was all worth it. Even though it helped to cause her self destruction, it was all worth it to see Michael and Lincoln, Veronica and LJ all happy and smiling together. If she hadn't left that door unlocked, then this moment in time would not be happening. They would instead be mourning Lincoln's death. Michael would still be in Fox River. LJ would be in some prison for a crime he didn't commit. Veronica would be heartbroken and devastated. And I would be miserable and alone, with no one to care about me. I now have a family for what I did. It was definitely all worth it. She came out of her reverie to see Michael staring at her. He walked over to her and put his hand tentatively on her shoulder. When she didn't shy away, he let out a breath he didn't know that he was holding. "We need to talk. Please. I'll tell you anything that you want to know. But please, can we just talk." He pleaded with her. Sara stared at him for a second, then nodded. "Ok." Michael turned around and looked at the rest of his celebrating family, and then looked back to her. He led her up the stairs and back into the dirty kitchen and the small dingy table. They both sat down, Sara avoiding his eyes.

"Sara, I am so sorry. For everything I did. I know that you'll probably never forgive me. But that's ok. As long as you know that everything I said that had to do with me and you, I meant. I really do…care for you." He finished. She was silent for a few minutes, looking at everything but him. Finally she looked at him.

"Michael. I already forgave you. The moment Veronica talked to me. And you know what? I'm glad I did what I did. I wouldn't change what I did at all. But that doesn't hide the fact that you betrayed me. You betrayed my trust. After that, I knew that I couldn't be with a man who lied to me so easily." She looked away from his eyes at that point, because the fact that his eyes were watering was breaking down her resolve. "What I'm trying to say is, we cant work. We wont work. I wont be able to trust you. And I cant have that." She got up at that point, and made to go back downstairs.

"Sara?" he called back to her. She turned around. "Just know that, every time I lied to you…it killed me. I wished, so many times, that I could tell you the truth about…about everything. And lying to you just put a knife in my heart, and every lie after that twisted it deeper and deeper." He finished desperately. He was on the verge of losing her. He knew it. And she knew it. She looked at him for a second.

"Goodbye Michael." She said quietly, and then walked back downstairs. He stared at the point where she disappeared for a while, and finally turned back around. And he let the tears fall. Lincoln came up five minutes later to find Michael sitting at the table staring at nothing on the wall. "Bro?" he questioned.

"I lost her Linc. I lost her."


	2. Chapter 2

Yay people like my story. It makes me happy. : so happy that I decided to write some more. Here you go. Ch. 2. Enjoy :D

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"No you didn't. She'll be back." Said Lincoln consolingly.

"I lost her. I lost her." Michael kept repeating to himself. He had lost the only woman he had ever cared about. The only one that he had ever thought of spending the rest of his life with. And now she slipped through his grasp. He stood up.

"Where are you goin'?" asked Lincoln.

"Outside, to contemplate the enigma that is Michael Scofield." He replied sadly.

"Speak English bro." Michael looked at him. "I'm going to look at my life and how screwed up it got. And how the only woman that I love hates my guts and never wants to see me again. I need beer."

"Michael. You cant drink your problems away." He said while Michael walked past him into the small kitchen. "Watch me." He said, while holding a six pack.

"Michael…" Lincoln started.

"Linc…just leave me alone. Please." He asked. Lincoln looked at him for a moment longer, then sighing, nodded his head and watched as his little brother went to go and drown himself in his sorrow. "Sara…" Lincoln breathed, then turned around and walked right back downstairs. She wasn't anywhere. "Where's Sara?" Lincoln asked LJ and Veronica, but right when he asked that, out walked Sara with her little bag of things.

"Um, I'm going to go. I cant…I cant stay here." She said, not looking at anyone. Everyone stared at her. "But why?" asked Veronica, finally. Sara closed her eyes. "I just cant stay here. Thanks for everything, but…just I have to go." She started walking towards the stairs, but Lincoln stopped her.

"You love Michael. Don't you?" he asked her. She stopped, then turned around. She closed her eyes and thought a minute.

"No. I don't." she finally said. Lincoln stared at her, but decided to let it drop. "So where you gonna go? Or more importantly, how you gonna get there? The only car here is the one Michael has, and we kinda need that. And we are not gonna take you anywhere, because we want you here, and we have to wait until everyone in this conspiracy has been rounded up. They still want to kill you, you know. So I don't know why your leaving." He finished.

"Lincoln…" she started.

"Unless it has something to do with a certain brother of mine." He interrupted her. "Face it doc, were not letting you leave here." Sara dropped her head and rubbed her hand over her eyes. "Fine." She said finally. She turned around and walked back to the couch and sat down.

"Where's Michael?" Veronica asked after a minute. Lincoln sighed, looked at Sara, and then said, "He's outside. Drinking his problems away."

"And you just let him? Lincoln, he hasn't touched the stuff since you were put on death row." Veronica said exasperatedly.

"Yea, well, you know Michael. It's kinda hard to stop him once he has his mind set on something. Look at that whole Fox River incident." He pointed out. Sara stood up. "Where you goin'?" Lincoln asked her suspiciously.

"To try and stop him." She left the room, everyone watching her. "Man, they got it bad for each other." Lincoln said to the room.

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Sara opened the back door, and looked outside. Michael sat there, staring at the sky, with a full bottle in his hand. He hadn't touched a single one. Michael dropped his head and sighed. "I already told you, Linc; leave me alone." He said angrily. Sara stood there, not knowing what to say. He turned around, and stood up quickly upon seeing who it was. He didn't say anything, but just looked at her, afraid that if he said anything, she would go back inside.

"I came out here…to get you to stop drinking. But since you hadn't touched a single bottle…"she trailed off and started edging her way back inside.

"Sara…why do you care if I'm drinking or not?" he asked her, desperate to keep her outside. Sara started looking at everything but him, desperate to get away from him. She started to see that this was a bad idea.

"They were talking about you. They said you hadn't drunken alcohol ever since Lincoln was…was put on death row. They sounded so worried. The least I could do, for them, was to get you to stop. But since your not, then…I'll just go now." She finished and turned around.

"Sara. Is there any hope, whatsoever, for us?" he asked her. He kept his eyes on the back of her head, hoping that she would answer him, or at least turn around. She leaned her head back and sighed.

"I may have liked you in Fox River. I may have waited for you if you hadn't lied to me. I may have thought about you more than I should have, but now that we're both out…" she turned around. "No. There is no hope for us." Michael sighed and nodded. "That's all I needed to hear." He turned around, threw his still full bottle into the neighboring woods, then strode past her back into the warehouse. He grabbed the keys off the table, grabbed his jacket, then went down the stairs to Veronica, LJ, and Lincoln.

"Well, I'm going to go and turn myself in now. There's no reason to stay here." He said halfheartedly to the room.

"What! Uncle Mike, no not yet!" exclaimed LJ.

"Why so soon?" Veronica asked him. "Stay here with your family for a little while longer. There still going to put you in a holding cell until morning anyways."

"I don't care. I just need to leave. I need to get away from here. Thanks for everything you did Veronica. I'll… I'll see you guys later." And without waiting for a response from them, he turned right back around and left. He went back outside, and saw that Sara was standing against the railing and staring into the woods. He stared at her for a second, then walked down towards the car. She saw him.

"Where are you going?" she asked, a hint of desperation in her voice.

"I'm going to turn myself in. I cant stay here." He said. He slowly walked back up towards her and stood in front of her.

"Don't do that." She told him quietly. "You'll hurt them." Michael lowered his head and sighed in defeat. He brought his hand up to her face and held it there, because surprisingly, she let him. Sara closed her eyes, trying to fight back tears.

"It was real Sara. You and me. It's real." Without moving his hand from her face, he slowly lowered his head, watching her every step of the way. She hadn't moved. He finally pushed his lips against hers, and after a moment, she pushed back. Michael inwardly cheered for joy, but that brief moment was cut short when Lincoln came running out. Sara immediately pushed him back, and Michael could not help but glare at his brother. "Mike, you're not leaving. We need the car anyways. How would we leave this place?" he asked angrily.

"It's alright Linc, I'm not leaving anymore. I'll go tomorrow morning." Michael said, smiling slightly. Lincoln looked between Sara and Michael, wondering what happened between them, but then Sara started walking back inside. She didn't look at Lincoln, and she definitely did not look at Michael.

"What happened between you two just now?" he asked, slightly confused.

"I think…I think I just might be able to get her back."

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Sara woke up early the next morning. So early, in fact, that it was still dark out, but she couldn't sleep. She stayed in bed for a while, thinking about Michael and what he did. She knew that a part of her still cared about him. In fact, that part of her cared a little too much about him. If Lincoln hadn't walked out on them the previous night, she would have been kissing Michael Scofield for longer than she should have been. And the thought scared her. It scared her that he still had that effect on her, after everything that he did do to her. She knew that she shouldn't trust him, but a part of her did. Sighing, she decided to get up. A cup of coffee sounded really good at the moment. She made to get up, when she suddenly noticed something. There was an arm around her waist. Not just any arm either. A tattooed arm. She began to wonder how in the hell she didn't notice this, but stopped. That arm felt really good around her. She suddenly felt the need to be closer to the owner of the tattooed arm, so slowly, she inched back until she felt him against her. She smiled, and suddenly felt very tired. i Making coffee can wait. /i she thought tiredly. And after that, she fell asleep. Michael smiled. He had been awake the whole time. There was definitely hope for the two. And with Michael, hope is all he needs to make things right. He fell back asleep, pulling Sara closer to him in the process.

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"She so loves him. Look at them. She may deny it, but she loves him." Lincoln said quietly while staring at the two. They had all slept in the same room, being that it was the most comfortable one in the warehouse, but now, Lincoln had made it his mission to wake everyone in the warehouse. It was proving to be more difficult then he thought. LJ had completely ignored him, Veronica had clung to him, pleading five more minutes, and Sara and Michael…they were completely in their own world, not even moving when he had told them to wake up. He sighed. He was starting to wish he had never even started this task. Suddenly Veronica, who had woken up after her promised five minutes, came rushing into the room.

"Everyone! Wake up! There clearing Lincoln and LJ as we speak! There arresting the president! There arresting everyone! Come on, wake up!" she exclaimed excitedly. As if they had never even slept, everyone jumped up, except Sara, and ran into the room with the mini-tv. Michael had gotten up like everyone else, but stopped when he noticed that Sara was not after him. He went back into the room to see what she was doing, and he saw that she was sitting on the little makeshift bed, staring at nothing at all.

"Sara?" he questioned cautiously.

"We cant do this. You shouldn't have kissed me. Why did you sleep with me last night? I thought I had made it clear that there was nothing between us. From now on, Michael, just leave me alone. Even when this is over. I understand we will have to see each other, but that's just something I have to live with." She didn't even give him a chance to speak. She got up and left the room to join everyone else. This time, it was Michael who was left speechless. i She hates me. /i He thought. / She really hates me /i Michael went and sat down where Sara had been sitting, not caring at all about the news bulletin anymore. He sat there thinking about every possible good thing that had happened between him and Sara. And with all those thoughts of happiness, his heart grew heavier and heavier, because he knew that he would never know that again. Veronica came in. "Come on, Michael. We're leaving now." He looked at her, then stood up slowly. He walked over to her, and Veronica, noticing how sad he was, reached up and gave him a hug. A single tear fell down his cheek as he returned the hug.

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I think I might update tonight. : Thanks for reading, and review too!


	3. Chapter 3

Yea, I couldn't stop myself. Here's chapter 3. Enjoy.

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It had been a week since Michael, Lincoln, and LJ had turned themselves in. Lincoln and LJ were cleared immediately. Michael got three months of probation, and community service for a year. He basically was not allowed to go to a bank for three months. That was the extent of his probation. The President had gotten life in some women's facility, along with all her corrupt agents. And my father, well he "claimed ignorance to everything that was going on," and he didn't get in trouble at all. The lying bastard. Veronica and Lincoln had moved in together, along with LJ. Michael had bought an apartment across from them, and I, well I was still apartment searching. I wanted to be near Veronica, but not Michael. And that was kind of hard considering that Michael was a big part of their lives. Veronica was helping me find an apartment though, and that was where I was headed to.

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Sara knocked on Veronica's door, and waited a few seconds. Michael answered the door. He stared at her for a few seconds, and then without a word, he stood to the side and let her in. Sara tried to ignore the look of heartbreak on his beautiful features, but it wasn't working.

"Hello Michael," she said faintly. It was the first thing she had said to him since he had been released. He cracked one of his adorable half smiles that made Sara's heart flutter, and answered back with a "Hi, Sara." i _There's my good deed for the day._ i thought Sara. She had made a smile, maybe not a big one, but one anyways, appear on his face. Veronica had said that he hadn't smiled for the entire week. She walked past him into the apartment, and Michael stared after her with longing. Sara went up to Veronica and gave her a friendly hug. They had become quite close ever since Michael had brought her to the warehouse, and they talked at least twice everyday. Michael walked over to the two happy girls.

"Well, Veronica, I'm going to go now. I'll come by later tonight for dinner." He opened his arms to give Veronica a hug.

"Alright, see you tonight. Good luck!" she said to him. He smiled in reply, only the smile did not reach his eyes. He turned to Sara, hoping to give her a hug goodbye. He opened his arms tentively, and to his relief, Sara stood up and gave him a hug. She felt him relax under her, and wrap his arms more firmly around her. "It was good seeing you today, Sara." He said quietly. She laughed quietly. "I see you everyday Michael." She said, still chuckling.

"Yea, but today you actually said 'hi' to me." Before she could respond, he had let go of her, walked to the door, turned his head and smiled briefly to the two, then left. Veronica watched Sara and smiled.

"You like him." She teased happily. Sara blushed and smiled. "I've always liked him." She said finally. "Just as a friend though."

"Uh-huh. Sure." she asked incredulously. Sara sighed, the smile now gone from her face.

"He hurt me. He betrayed me. And I don't want that to happen again." She said sadly. "Every guy I know hurts me, even if they don't mean it. It always happens. It's best to just avoid it." She finished.

"Sara. No matter what you say, you can't be alone for the rest of your life. You need your own pillar of strength. One that will help you when you're down; one to love you forever and ever. I already know that Michael loves you. And I'm pretty sure you feel the same way, even if you won't admit it. Just…give him a chance." She finished quietly. She noticed the look on Sara's face, and changed the subject. "Alright, now to start apartment searching!" she exclaimed. Sara's face immediately changed into one of delight, and she smiled broadly.

"Good. I can't wait till I can get out of my apartment. It freaks me out now." She shuddered slightly, but then smiled again.

"You know, the apartment next to us is for rent. It just went up yesterday. What do you think?" Veronica asked her. "That way, we can all be close, and we can still be together without living together." Sara thought about it for a split second, and then exclaimed "that would be great." So both women went to inquire about the apartment. After about an hour and a half, Sara now had her new apartment, and would be able to move in the next day. She sighed happily.

"Now all I have to do is pack up all my stuff." She said to Veronica.

"Oh, Lincoln, LJ, Michael and I can all help you too, you know. It would make the job go ten times faster. And that way, you would be all settled in by tomorrow night!" she finished excitedly.

"Thanks." Sara said happily. "That reminds me…why did you wish Michael good luck?" Veronica smiled wickedly. "Oh he has a job interview down at one of the construction firms. If all goes well, he'll have a job by the time he stops by for dinner tonight. Oh do you want to have dinner with us too?" Veronica finished. Sara happily agreed, then she said bye to Veronica and left to go back to her apartment, after promising that she would come back later on.

Later that night

For the second time that day, Sara knocked on Veronica's door, and again, Michael answered it. He was dressed up in a suit, but had taken off his jacket and had loosened his tie slightly. He gave Sara a brilliant smile when he opened the door, and reached down to hug her, putting his arms around her waist. Sara smiled. i _Why does it feel so good in his arms?_ /i she asked herself as she slipped her arms around his neck and returned the welcoming squeeze. All too soon, the hug ended, and Sara was led into the now very familiar apartment. Veronica was putting the finishing touches on the extravagant meal that she had prepared, and Lincoln and LJ were setting the table. Sara smiled at the sight. They were such a cute family. They all said their hellos to Sara, and then all took their places around the cozy little table. Lincoln and Veronica sat together on one side, LJ sat at the head, and Michael and Sara sat on the other side. Lincoln smiled to himself. He decided to be the evil older brother that he was.

"Alright, everyone. Hold hands. Time to say our dinner prayer." Lincoln bellowed out. Everyone stared at him, Michael looking at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Linc, we haven't prayed since we were kids." Michael said to him incredulously. Lincoln just smiled wickedly. "Yea, well, I think it's time we start. We have a lot, and I mean a lot, to be thankful for." He grabbed Veronica's hand, and then grabbed LJ's hand. LJ grabbed Sara's hand, and Michael, still staring at Lincoln with an I hate you expression, grabbed Veronica's hand. Sara and Michael did not hold hands.

"Come on you guys, the prayer circle has to be complete. Michael, grab Sara's hand." Said Linc teasingly. He was thoroughly enjoying Michael's facial expressions. Michael sent him a death glare, and then tentively grabbed Sara's hand. He relaxed a bit when he felt Sara's hand close around his, and he gently gave her a little squeeze. Sara returned it.

"Alright, I'll say it," Lincoln started," God is great, God is good. Let us thank him for our food. Amen." He finished. "Alright, lets eat." He let go of Veronica's and LJ's hand and started digging into his food, completely ignoring the looks everyone was giving him.

"You made us stand up, hold hands in a circle, so you could say a little four year olds dinner prayer?" Michael asked him disbelievingly. Lincoln finally looked up. "Uh, yea. Yea I did." Then he went back to tearing into his chicken. Veronica laughed and started putting food on her plate, with LJ doing the same. Michael and Sara had still not stopped holding hands. Sara was avoiding his gaze whenever he tried to catch her attention, so giving up, he gently let go of her hand. Sara was inwardly disappointed. She liked his hand.

"So," Veronica started. "How did it go?" she asked Michael excitedly. Michael smiled happily. "I got the job. I start Monday. My new boss told me that there's a formal party that's happening tomorrow night to celebrate a new deal, which," he paused for a dramatic effect, "is being run by me." Veronica squealed in delight, and Lincoln looked happy.

"Good job, lil' bro'." He congratulated him. Michael smiled. "Wait there's more. The party tomorrow night, he told me to invite my family. So I want you guys to come." He finished. Veronica agreed immediately, and with a little persuasion, Lincoln agreed as well. Michael told LJ that he was more than welcome to come, and finally Michael turned to Sara. She was looking down towards her plate, and listening to all the excitement going on around her. i Another boring night to myself. /i she thought glumly. She felt Michael's stare on her, and looked up at him, losing herself in his piercing eyes.

"I want you to come to. That is…if you want to. Please." He asked her quietly. Sara smiled, the happiness returning to her stomach in one great sweep. "Of course I'll come." She said, just as quietly back to him.

"There's…one more thing." he started again, and this time he looked nervous. "Will…will you be my, uh, my…date." He finished awkwardly. He looked away nervously, dreading, and at the same time anticipating her answer. He expected her to say no.

"I would love to." She said. Michael sighed. "Of course, I understand…wait what?" he asked her again.

"I said that I would love to."

Sara and Veronica decided to forget moving into her new apartment the next day and decided to go dress shopping instead.

"Besides, you can just stay with us…or Michael. Or we could just move your bed in." Sara smiled at Veronica's happy attitude, and then focused on the rack of dresses in front of her.

"Speaking of Michael," Veronica started again, "I see you guys are going as dates." She finished in a teasing tone. Sara blushed. "We're just going as friends. There is absolutely nothing between us." She said. Veronica still looked skeptical, but let it drop. She knew Sara would come to her senses eventually. A few hours later, they had there dresses and accessories all picked out. Since it was still early, Sara decided to start moving stuff into her new apartment. Just the tiny things that would give it the home-y feeling. She rented a little pick up truck and driver to take her bed there, so that way she could sleep there that night. Time flew by. Before she knew it, it was time to start getting ready. She took a shower, did her hair, applied her makeup, and finally put her dress on. Just as she finished, a knock sounded at her door, and she went and opened it. There stood Michael, looking absolutely gorgeous in a black suit. In his hand, he held a little origami flower, but as he stared at her, he completely forgot everything that he was doing. She looked beautiful. Her hair was up in an elegant French twist with little tendrils hanging down elegantly. She wore a black halter top gown that went down to the floor, was low cut in the front with a little diamond center piece, and an extremely low back. There was just a hint of sparkle to the dress, and she shimmered in a kind of ethereal glow when she moved. On her ears were long, dangly, diamond earrings, and on her wrist, a matching bracelet. She blushed under Michaels obviously admiring gaze, and Michael suddenly broke out of his stupor and handed her the flower.

"Sara…you look…wow, you look beautiful." He half whispered to her. Sara smiled again, and said thank you. "You're not half bad yourself." She told him. He merely smiled, still captivated by her beauty, but he offered her his arm, and she took it. They joined the others, and walked down to the awaiting limo. The ride to the ballroom where the party was being held was enjoyable, and all too soon they got to their destination. LJ and his date, a pretty girl from his school, were the first to get out, followed by Lincoln and Veronica. Last was Michael. He got out swiftly, and then reached down to help Sara out of the car. She stood up, but lost her balance a little, and almost fell over. Michael caught her, and held his hands around her waist. They both locked eyes for what seemed like an eternity.

"Uh…guys, sorry to interrupt the lovey goo-goo eye thing you guys got going on, but can we go inside? I'm hungry." Lincoln said impatiently. Sara immediately looked away and let go of Michael. "Uh, thanks. Sorry, it's the heels. I hate the damn things." She laughed awkwardly, and moved away from Michael. Michael shook himself out of his stupor, and followed the group inside, where he was immediately singled out by his new boss.

"Michael Scofield!" he bellowed, and Michael immediately turned and greeted him. "Mr. Collins." He said in his deep voice.

"Ah you brought your family. Mind introducing?" he questioned. Michael nodded and began.

"This is my brother Lincoln Burrows, with his girlfriend, Veronica Donovan, and his son LJ." He paused, and looked at Sara, before continuing. "And this is Sara Tancredi, my…my friend." He finished. She smiled at him, and he gazed at her lustily, his eyes lingering on her chest. He looked at Michael and whispered, "Only a friend?" and Michael sullenly nodded. He didn't like the way that Mr. Collins was looking at Sara. She inwardly rolled her eyes, and excused herself to get a glass of cider. They were serving alcohol, but Sara had stopped drinking it three years ago, and planned on not drinking it ever again. She though of Mr. Collins and his creepy stare, and jumped slightly when someone tapped her on the shoulder. It was Michael. He smiled bashfully, and then said, "I'm sorry for my boss. Uh, yea I don't know what to say." He gazed at her, and Sara found it hard to look away. "Do you…do you want to, um, dance…with me?" He asked her nervously, while looking away from her. Sara smiled, set her glass down, said a quiet "sure" and then left with Michael. A slow song had started playing, and Michael gently led her to the middle of the dance floor.

b **I close my eyes, and I smile,**

**Knowing that everything is alright.**

**To the core**

**So close that door.**

**Is this happening...** /b 

He gently placed his hands on her waist as she placed hers around his neck. They started swaying to the music.

b **My breath is on your hair**

**I'm unaware**

**That you opened the blinds and let the city in.**

**God, you held my hand,**

**And we stand**

**Just taking in everything…** /b 

He wrapped his arms more tightly around her, and smelled the perfume she was wearing. It made her even more heavenly smelling than she already was. He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled quietly. She was perfect.

b **And I knew it from the start**

**So my arms were open wide**

**Your head is on my stomach**

**And were trying so hard not to fall asleep.**

**But here we are…**

**On this 18th floor balcony**

**We're both…flying away.** /b 

Sara unconsciously drew herself closer to Michael, resting her head on his toned chest. It felt so right in his arms. To right. She was flying away, to a place with just her and Michael; no one else. She felt Michael's grasp tightening even more around her waist, and thought that this moment couldn't have been better. Until, of course…

"Sorry to interrupt, but, may I have this dance?" someone asked. They both loosened their grips on one another, and looked to see who was asking. It was Mr. Collins. There was no way he could say no to his new boss. He tried not to let his disappointment show as he let Sara be whisked away in his arms. He sighed dejectedly, and went to get some champagne, watching darkly as Sara and Mr. Collins danced. He kept putting his hand on her lower back, exceptionally low, and inching one of his fingers into her dress nonchalantly. Michael could see her face, and could see how tense she was getting. Before he could do anything about it, a woman poked him on the back.

"Hi, I'm Jane. I'm your secretary. Do you want to dance?" she asked in one breath. Not waiting for an answer, she took his hand and dragged him to the dance floor. She immediately started conversation with him.

"Did you know that you are really really incredibly good looking? I'm single, you know." She added. Michael just smiled and nodded politely, while straining his eyes to catch a glimpse Sara and Mr. Collins. "Do you wanna come back to my place?" Jane asked him. Michael looked at her, surprised by her forwardness, but before he could answer, Veronica came up to him.

"Hey, Michael, think you could help me out with something?" Michael immediately agreed, happy for the excuse to get away from Jane. "It was nice meeting you," he said politely, and quickly walked away. He felt a small piece of paper pressed into his hand, and saw that Jane had given him her phone number. He rolled his eyes, and followed Veronica, "accidently" dropping the piece of paper on the floor. This was going to be a long night, he could already tell.

Sorry this is so late. I don't like writing fanfiction when my families home, so I wait till there gone. : haha but here you go, chappy threeee. : oh and im glad that you guys are enjoying my story. :D makes me extremely happy. The end. I'll update soon too.

Oh and the song is 18th Floor Balcony by Blue October. I highly recomment listening to that song. Its one of my favorites, and its beautiful.

Reviewwww 3


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4. :

Michael followed Veronica, thankful to get away from his new secretary Jane. "What do you need my help for?" he asked her. He was eager to go back to Sara, and maybe hopefully rekindle the moment they had shared.

"Nothing. I just thought you wanted to get away from that slut who was flirting with you. Just trying to help." She said with a smile. Michael threw her a big smile and gave her a hug.

"Veronica, I love you. Ha thanks." He said happily. She returned the hug, and then returned to Lincoln, who was, of course, by the big buffet table. He searched the room for Sara and Mr. Collins, but he couldn't find them anywhere. He started to get worried. He knew that Sara wouldn't do anything with his new boss, but he wasn't so sure about Mr. Collins. Nevertheless, he continued to scan the room, sighing in relief when he saw Mr. Collins by the champagne table holding two glasses of champagne. Michael walked over to him.

"Michael, have you seen your wonderful date? She wanted some of this here wine, and now I cant find her." Michael inwardly smiled. She was trying to get rid of him, because he knew that there was no way that Sara would be drinking anything. He answered with a no, and then excused himself and went on his own search for Sara.

Sara congratulated herself on getting rid of Michael's creepy new boss, and went outside for some fresh air. She stepped onto the balcony and stared out at the many stars that dotted the sky. It was an absolutely gorgeous evening. She closed her eyes and thought about the nights events. Dancing with Michael had been…the best dance of her life. He smelled really good too. And there was also the little fact that it felt really goon in his arms. But no matter how much she liked it, she could not be with him. Even to herself, her reasons sounded stupid, but she had made a decision and decided to stick with it. She shivered and rubbed her arms around herself, little goose bumps poking there way along her arms. Suddenly she heard a voice, one that she had only heard in the riots, and it made her blood run cold.

"Fancy seein' you here doc." He said evilly. Sara slowly turned. It was 'Pop-Pop,' or Theo. Friend of Stroker. Both men who wanted to do God knows what to her. He continued with what he was saying. "Got out on early parole, for 'good behavior.' Or maybe it was the fact that my parents here are important people. Very important people. Whatever the reason, you're here. And I'm here. How 'bout we finished what we never got to start?" he looked at her lustily, his gaze lingering on her chest for far too long then she would have liked.

"Leave me alone, Theo. What are you going to do? Rape me on this balcony, where everyone will hear me scream?" she asked him, edging her way back inside.

"I'm not that stupid. You better watch you're back, doc." He finished as she went back inside, fear gripping her insides. She wanted to go home. She started searching for Michael. Unbeknownst to her, Michael was doing the exact same thing, only he wasn't having any luck. He sat down and sighed. He had checked everywhere for her, and couldn't find her. It was frankly pissing him off. Staring off into space, he saw a flash of red hair, and a twinkle of black dress. He shook off his stupor, and stood up.

"Sara." He called to her. She turned around, and relief became evident on her face. She rushed up to him and put her arms around him. Shocked by the sudden hug, but happy all the same, he placed his arms around her. "Are you alright?" he asked her quietly, worry evident in his voice. She nodded her head.

"Theo's here. He threatened me. I was scared." She said to him quietly. Michael's face turned hard. Some former prison inmate had threatened Sara. His Sara. Well technically not his, but still. "What did he say?" he asked her, now stroking her shaking back.

"To 'watch my back.' Can we leave? Please." She asked him. Michael didn't even need her to make that suggestion. "Of course." He wrapped his arm around her, and she clung to his waist. Despite how she was feeling, she couldn't help but notice that she liked this feeling. It was almost like they were a couple. _Only we're not._ She told herself. That whole not liking Michael thing was getting really hard to remember. They both went off in search of Veronica, LJ, and Lincoln, and found them again, by the buffet table. _No surprise there_. Michael thought to himself.

"Uh, come on. Time to go." He told them all.

"But Michael, look at all this good food. Look." He grabbed Michael and pulled him to the table, in the process, pulling Sara. "Then take some." He told Lincoln. "We're leaving." Sara nervously looked around for Theo, but didn't see him anywhere. They left the ballroom, with Mr. Collins trying to get Sara's phone number, and Jane nearly tripping on her heels to say bye to Michael, and got in the limo.

Theo smiling to himself in his car, started it, and followed them. He was going to get Sara.

The ride back to the apartment building was short. But in that short amount of time, Sara and Veronica had managed to fall asleep. Sara was leaning against Michael, and Michael had his arm around her protectively. He really loved the feeling of her in his arms. Lincoln watched them.

"What's going on between you two?" he asked his brother. Michael sighed sadly and looked at him. "Nothing." He returned his gaze to Sara.

"But you love her." Lincoln said quietly. Michael quickly looked at Lincoln, and thought for a second. "It doesn't matter if I love her. What matters is if she loves me." He started. "What matters is if she wants to do anything about it. What matters is if she wants to be with me…as much as I want to be with her." He finished. Lincoln looked at him sadly. "It's alright, lil' bro. She'll come around. She's in love with you too." Michael returned his gaze to Sara and began stroking her arm. "I really hope so." He said quietly. The limo made it to the apartment building, and Michael gently woke Sara up. She was still sleepy, but managed to wake up after she got outside in the cool night air. LJ stayed in the limo, accompanying his date back to her house, and then would come back later that night. The four walked back to their rooms, and Lincoln and Veronica bade them both goodnight before going into their apartment and shutting the door. Sara and Michael lingered outside her door a little longer. He opened up his arms to give her a hug. "Thanks for coming with me tonight." He said while holding her in his arms.

"Thanks for saving me tonight…again." She said quietly. He gently drew back and looked at her. He leaned his head forward, trying to kiss her goodnight, but Sara brought her hand up to his chest and pushed him back slightly. He let out his breath, and went and kissed her on the cheek. Then, with one last look at her, he turned and walked back towards his apartment. But Sara called him back.

"Michael. Um…Veronica told me something, the uh, the night that you brought me to the warehouse." She paused, and Michael stopped and turned around and faced her, his hand still on his doorknob. He gave her a look as if saying continue, and so she recklessly finished her thought. She had to know if Veronica was just saying it. "She told me that…she told me that you loved me. Is it true?" she asked him, wanting to know, and not wanting to know at the same time. Michael glanced down, but returned his gaze to her face once he answered.

"Would it matter if it did?" he asked her. _Yes_. She told herself. But to him, she shook her head no. He looked away at that point. "Then, no. I don't love you." He told her.

"Then Veronica was lying?" she asked him. She didn't know why she was probing the subject too much. It was obviously hurting him. She just…had to know. Michael looked her in the eyes. "She wasn't lying." He let that ring in the air for a few seconds, then said, "Goodnight Sara." He unlocked his door and went inside, leaving Sara out in front of her door thinking of what he had said to her. Inside his house, Michael let out a long breath and placed his head on the door. "I love you." He whispered, as a single tear fell down his cheek. "I love you so much."

Theo angrily ran into the apartment building. He had lost the big group of people that Sara was with, and he was mad as hell for letting that happen. He made it to the two elevators, and had to stop. There were two. One was on the third floor, and the other was on the first floor. Deciding to take his chances, he chose the elevator that was on the third floor, and waited patiently for it to come down. It pinged open, and he hurled himself inside, pressing three repeatedly. As the elevator came to a stop, he snuck out, and looked down the row of apartments. And smiled to himself. Just his luck. Sara was standing outside of her apartment, staring at the door across from her. Slowly, she turned around, and unlocked her door, and went inside. Theo laughed evilly to himself. _Just you wait_. He thought, before he turned around and left the apartment building.

The next day was spent bringing in Sara's furniture from her old apartment. Lincoln, Veronica, and LJ helped, along with Michael, who after confessing what he did last night, was completely ignoring her. Sara felt a little hurt, but overlooked it. Michael finally left, a little after one, saying that he had to go to work. He didn't even acknowledge Sara as he left, which made Sara feel even more hurt. Finally, later on that afternoon, her stuff was all moved in and placed where she wanted it, and it finally started to feel a little like home. Veronica thought that they should have a celebratory dinner, and everyone laughed. Veronica and her family dinners. But they all agreed nevertheless. They all busied themselves with the necessary dinner preparations, and got everything ready so that when Michael came home, everything would be done. (They had called him earlier to tell him about it). Finally, the time for dinner came around, and now everyone was just eagerly waiting for Michael to come back. Sara more than anyone because she wanted to talk to him. About everything. She hated how they were around each other, so she decided to resolve it. Suddenly a knock sounded on the door. Sara went to open it, hoping to ask Michael if they could talk later on that night. Opening it with a smile, she started to greet him, but the greeting, along with the smile, melted from her face. Michael had brought over company for dinner. And it was none other than his slutty, desperate secretary, Jane.

"Oh my gosh, I love this apartment!" Jane gushed excitedly. Sara stared at her, then turned her gaze to Michael. He was looking at the floor, his head down low. _Fine. _She thought. _If that's the way he's going to act, then I won't talk to him._ All her bitter thoughts towards him returned, and she turned around and walked angrily to the table.

"Bro…can I talk to you, over there?" he asked, pointing to the hallway past the dining room. Michael nodded slowly, and walked after Lincoln.

"What the **hell** are you doing, Michael? I thought you loved Sara, and now you bring home your slut of a secretary? I feel like knocking some sense into you right now." He growled lowly, thoroughly pissed off at his younger brother. Michael sighed again, totally defeated.

"I didn't invite her over, Linc. She invited herself. I was trying to get home, and she wouldn't let me leave. She finally said, 'great I'll go with you and meet your family!' and she wouldn't hear me when I said no." Michael said sadly. He had seen Sara's face when she had opened the door, and it broke his heart. "And now, she hates me again." He whispered, more to himself then Lincoln, but he heard anyways. "Stay right here." He told Michael, and then he left him and went to go and get Sara. He bent down and whispered something in her ear, and she slowly nodded her head and got up. She walked over to Michael, who was deliberately avoiding her gaze.

"So…why…" she started, but Michael didn't let her finish.

"I didn't invite her over, Sara. She invited herself. I would never do that." He said. In one swift movement, he walked up to her, and took her head gently in his hands, tangling his fingers in her hair. He slowly lowered his forehead onto hers and closed his eyes. "I would never, ever do that to you." He whispered, his voice cracking. "Please, believe me." Sara fought back tears as Michael said this to her, and slowly nodded. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, moving her head to his shoulder. He grabbed her waist and held on to her.

"I, uh, I want to talk to you. Later on tonight." She said to him. "If you'll let me." She added as an afterthought. Michael slowly let go of her and looked into her eyes.

"Anything." He said quietly. She smiled shyly, and they both gazed into each others eyes, but of course, like all the other moments they had had, someone always came by and ruined them.

"Hey, ya'll, dinner's on the table, and…hey whats goin' on?" Jane asked jealously. She didn't like the way Michael had his arms around Sara.

"Nothing, anymore." Said Michael, obviously annoyed. He dropped his arms from around her, and placing his hand on the small of her back, led her into the kitchen. Jane glared at Sara. She did not like her. So angrily pushing past her, she took what was usually Sara's seat. Michael saw this and said patiently, "Jane, that's Sara's seat." Jane took a swig of the beer that she was drinking, and said, "well she can just sit right there." She said angrily. "Stupid druggie." She muttered under her breath. Michael heard her.

"What the hell did you just say?" he asked her, but Sara stepped in.

"Michael…just let it drop, alright?" she placed her hand on his arm, and sat down in the seat that wasn't next to Michael. She had to admit that she was hurt. It hurt being called a druggie by someone who didn't even know you. _I have to be strong_. She thought. _I have to be strong._ Jane wore a triumphant look, but threw a horrible glare in Sara's directon. She felt herself tearing up, and looked away. They skipped Lincoln's childish "four year olds" prayer, as Michael had worded it, and went straight to dishing out the main courses. Jane took another great gulp of beer, and then grabbed the nearest plate and started piling food onto it.

"Ya know, this really is a great place ya'll have." She said, while dumping mashed potatoes onto her plate. "There's just one thing that ya'll can prolly do without, if ya know what I mean." She said, while glancing at Sara. Everyone ignored her, but Sara saw it. Her eyes began to water, and she blinked them furiously. She would not cry, but getting up to leave sounded like a nice option. So that is exactly what she did.

"Um guys, I'll be back later, alright. I'm…I'm not feeling well." She said feebly. Michael half rose from his chair.

"Are you alright?" he asked her worriedly. Sara merely nodded, and left the apartment. After the apartment shut, Jane let out a sigh of relief.

"Well finally. That stupid druggie is gone." She grabbed another beer and popped the top off, taking another huge gulp, but choked on it when Michael furiously slammed his silverware on the table. He stood up.

"Get out." He told Jane. "You don't ever, and I mean EVER call her that." He finished angrily. Jane looked at him with slightly bloodshot eyes. "Psh don't tell me you love that ugly slut?" she asked, and then hiccupped.

"As a matter of fact, I do. And if you ever call her a druggie, or an 'ugly slut' again, well I'll fire you. She's a hell of a lot better than you." He said. Lincoln sat back and watched. He really hated Jane, and was glad with what Michael was doing. Jane sat back and watched Michael in shock. Finally without a word, she got up, opened the door, and left.

Sara had let the tears fall as soon as she shut Lincoln's apartment door. She walked back to hers, opened it, and went inside, collapsing on the bed. She never saw Theo standing behind the door. She never saw him follow her into her room. And she never saw him grab the poorly made ashtray that Michael had given her. But she did see him right when he jumped on top of her and covered her mouth with his hand.

"Hey there, pretty lady doctor. Told you to watch your back now, didn't I?" and with that being said, he raised the ashtray high in the air, and smashed her in the head with it. Sara's world went black.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Theo eagerly grabbed the unconscious Sara and flipped her onto her back. He started undoing her shirt buttons, but decided that it was taking to long, so he ripped it off instead. He sighed in excitement, and threw his own shirt off and unbuckled his pants. But something was wrong. He wasn't as excited as he should have been. And it was because Sara was unconscious. _Well that's no fun. _He thought. _She can't be unconscious._ Theo got off of Sara and went to find some duct tape. Finding some in her kitchen drawer, he went back to her and covered her mouth with it. Satisfied with his covering job, he went and slapped Sara's cheek. Her head simply lulled to the other side and remained there. He kept slapping her, trying to wake her up, but nothing was working. He grumbled in frustration, ripped of her bra, and followed by taking off her pants. Then he slapped her again. And again. And again.

Michael watched angrily as Jane left Lincoln and Veronica's apartment, then swore loudly.

"Michael, go talk to her. See how she's doing." Veronica told him. Without even replying, Michael opened up the door and left the apartment. Gearing himself up for their talk, he knocked quietly on her door. Getting no reply, he tried her door, and finding that it was unlocked, opened it. He paused and listened, and heard the sound of slapping. He immediately walked over towards Sara's room, and saw Theo on top of her almost naked body, continually slapping her, trying to wake her up.

"Stupid doctor druggie. Wake the hell up." He muttered to himself. Michael growled low in his throat, then ran up and kicked Theo off of her. Theo looked up in surprise as he fell off the bed and onto the floor, and then started groaning in pain as Michael started beating the hell out of him.

"Don't you EVER fucking touch her, you little piece of shit. I will kill you." He said as he delivered punch after punch to Theo. Finally, after Theo had lost consciousness, he leapt off of him and ran over to Sara. She was still unconscious. He banged on the wall for Lincoln, and then cradled her in his arms. Reaching for the phone behind him, he dialed 911, and explained the situation. At that moment, Lincoln walked in. "Holy…" he said, before running over to Theo and kicking him in the stomach. He turned to Michael, who was taking off his shirt with shaking hands and putting it on Sara, to help cover her up.

"The authorities are on the way." He said, his voice shaky and cracking with emotion. He bundled her up in his arms, her face cradled on his chest. He was fighting back tears. "This is all my fault. I never should have let Jane come over. I should have followed her." He said. Tears were now streaming down his face. "Sara, I'm sorry," he whispered, "I'm so sorry. Please be alright." He tenderly kissed her rapidly bruising face. Lincoln came over, gently putting his hand on Michael's shoulder. "Everything's going to be alright. Just have a little faith." In the corner, Theo started groaning, and Michael's head snapped up, hate filling his features. Lincoln went up to him and grabbed his arms. Theo coughed.

"Hey…Linc the sink. Long time…"he coughed violently again, "no talk." He finished. Lincoln punched him in the stomach, and Theo curled up in pain.

"Shut up. You're goin' back to Fox River. What the hell did you think you were doing?" he growled angrily to Theo, grabbing his head and extending it back. Michael watched angrily, stroking Sara's back. He looked at the bed and saw the ash tray that he had made for her. It made tears well up in his eyes. _She kept it._ He felt a little surge of hope. Suddenly, Veronica walked in, stopping short and gasping. "Oh my God…Sara?" she breathed. At that moment, the paramedics walked in, along with the police. They went over the Theo and handcuffed him, while the paramedics brought the stretcher over to the bed. They gently put her on the stretcher and checked her vitals. Michael stroked her face, and when the paramedics started to leave, followed them and grabbed her hand.

"Sir," one of them started, "please let go of her." Michael completely ignored them, and continued holding her hand. The paramedics let it slide, and then started making their way back to the ambulance, Michael with her the entire way. Veronica, Lincoln, and LJ followed, Veronica silently crying for her best friend. They made it to the ambulance, and climbed in with the stretcher. Michael climbed in after them. "Sir, we're going to have to ask you to leave." One of the paramedics said. Michael just gave him his stare, and said "Make me." The paramedics sighed and admitted defeat. Michael sat next to Sara and held her hand the entire way to the hospital. He looked at her beautiful face, and even now he could see the bruises that were starting to come up. He held her hand and started crying silently, tears streaming down his face. _I failed her. _ He thought miserably. _I failed her._

Lincoln paced the waiting room area, waiting for word from Michael, or a doctor. Michael had not left her side at all, and he probably wasn't going to. Veronica sat in a daze, her face tear streamed and eyes bloodshot, and LJ sat next to her, holding her hand, his face in shock. They had arrived at the hospital twenty minutes ago, but it seemed more like an hour of waiting. Finally a doctor came out.

"Sara Tancredi is going to be fine. She was knocked in the head fairly hard, and will probably be out of it for another thirty minutes to an hour. She has a concussion, and will most likely have one hell of a headache when she wakes up. Other than that, she's fine. She can be released tomorrow." The doctor concluded. Lincoln sighed in relief, his shoulders sagging as he ran his hands over his face. Veronica broke down again, she was so happy, and LJ smiled again, his face clearly showing his relief. "Can we go see her?" LJ asked. The doctor nodded, and all three made their way over to her room. They entered to find Michael sitting in a chair, his hand entwined with Sara's. He was stroking her hair, and quietly singing a gentle love song, but stopped when his family entered. Michael looked dead tired, but he wasn't letting himself fall asleep.

"How's she doing?" Lincoln asked her, as he went over and stood next to his brother. "A lot better." He answered. "She can hold my hand." And upon closer inspection, he could see that Sara's fingers were entwined around his as well. Lincoln smiled. Veronica walked up and took hold of her other hand. "Thank God." She said. "If you hadn't gotten there in time…"she shuddered at the thought of what Theo would have done to her, and stopped talking. Michael's eyes flashed at he mention of Theo's name, but returned to their loving gaze when he cast his eyes back on Sara. He didn't say anything, but then turned to everyone.

"Hey, you guys? You can go home. I'll stay with her tonight." He had noticed how tired everyone looked.

"No, we'll just stay in the waiting room tonight. I want to stay the night too." Lincoln said. Veronica and LJ quickly agreed, and after a quick squeeze to Sara's hand, they all left. Michael continued his quiet singing to Sara.

**I love you…**

**I've loved you all along**

**And I miss you…**

**Been far away for far too long**

**I keep dreaming**

**You'll be with me, and you never know**

**Stop breathing**

**If I don't see you anymore…**

Michael felt his eyes drooping, and gently laid his head down on her stomach, still clutching her hand. His eyes finally closed, his last vision being Sara.

Her first thought was that her head hurt. A lot. Her next thought was of Theo, and her eyes flew open. She took a look at her surroundings, and noticed that she was in the hospital. She felt a gentle pressure on her abdomen, so looking down, she saw Michael sleeping on her stomach. She smiled. He looked so cute. She gently placed the hand that he wasn't holding on his head, and gently stroked it. She wandered what had happened that night. The last thing she remembers was leaving Lincoln and Veronica's apartment and laying on her bed. And then Theo had come in and hit her on the head. After that, she couldn't remember anything. Though she does vaguely remember singing. A nice soft tune, but she couldn't quite place the words. She returned her gaze to Michael. _Did he save me again? _She thought. _Did Theo…rape me?_ She shuddered at the thought. She really hoped that Michael was able to save her. She tried to remember anything that might help to jog her memory, but after thinking hard for several minutes, she came up blank. Sighing in frustration, she gently disentangled her hand from Michael's and rubbed her face with them. She looked for the time, but couldn't find it anywhere. On her stomach, Michael was stirring, and then froze. He sat bold upright and looked towards her. She was awake. He smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry about that." His smile faded. "How are you feeling." He asked, concern evident in his features. Sara smiled, and then suddenly noticed that she was wearing his shirt, and she wasn't wearing any pants. The color drained from her face, and then she asked him, in a small voice, "did Theo…did he rape me." Tears started forming in her eyes, and Michael, looking at her expression, felt himself tear up inside. Taking her broken frame in his arms, he gently whispered, "no. He didn't rape you. I made sure of that." She exhaled in relief, and let herself be comforted by Michael. He was gently rubbing her back, and it soothed her. "What happened?" she finally asked, kind of dreading the answer. He sighed and started pulling away from her, but Sara, missing the comfort that he brought her, pulled him back to her. So he rewrapped his arms around her and held her.

"I kicked Jane out after you had left, and then I went to go check on you. You're door was unlocked, so I walked in because you hadn't answered my knock. I heard…I heard Theo slapping you, and…and I walked into your room." He stopped for a second to try and control himself. He was trying really hard not to cry. "Theo was on top of you, and slapping you. You…you were almost completely undressed under him, and I" tears started forming, and he willed them to not spill over. "I ran over to him and kicked him off of you, and I hurt him. Badly." He stopped for a second. "Then I went to you, and I put my shirt on you and called the police, and yelled for Lincoln." He kissed her gently on the head. "And now here we are." He paused for a split second. "Sara, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. If I hadn't of let Jane come over, then you wouldn't have left…and then…" he couldn't finish. The feeling of being able to stop this from happening was too strong in him. He closed his eyes to stop the tears, but one slipped out through his tightly closed eye lid. Sara gently rose up from his arms and looked at him.

"Michael. This isn't your fault. Don't ever think that." She reached up and wiped the tear with her thumb, and then gently kissed his forehead. Michael opened his eyes. It was the first time that she had kissed him first, and it made him happy. She went and cuddled up in his arms again.

"You're my knight in shining armor." She told him quietly. She smiled at the thought, as did Michael.

"And you're my princess." He said, just as quietly. He kissed her hair. They would make it.

Lincoln walked forlornly to Sara's room. Michael's boss had called his cell phone, and upon finding out what had happened to Sara, was rushing over to talk to him about an important business deal, and most likely Sara. Michael was not going to be happy. He got to her room and looked through the window. And smiled. Michael was lying down on the hospital bed, and Sara was in his arms. They were both facing each other, and Michael's arms were around her. He sighed. He couldn't bear to wake them up. So instead, knowing that Michael would hurt him for not waking him up, he left and went back to the waiting room. Five minutes later, Mr. Collins came running in with a big bouquet of roses. Looking around anxiously, he saw Lincoln and ran up to him.

"What room is she in? And where's Michael?" he asked breathlessly. Lincoln sighed, really wishing that he had woken up Michael now. But then he had an idea.

"I don't know. Let me go check. Stay here." He said. Lincoln ran back to Sara's room, and opened the door. Michael was sitting on a chair next to her bed, and folding origami rose after origami rose. He started when Lincoln came running in. "What's going on?" he asked, resuming the folding of his roses.

"Your boss is here." Lincoln said simply. Michael sighed and closed his eyes, then stood up, carefully placing the origami roses he had folded all around her. He smiled at the look, and leaned in a kissed her cheek tenderly. Then he walked towards the door and left to go and meet his boss. Sara woke up upon hearing the door close and looked around. Michael wasn't there anymore. Her face fell, but then instantly brightened when she noticed the many origami flowers around her. She carefully sat up and picked them up one by one. He had made twelve of them for her. She carefully tucked one behind her ear, and then made the rest into a little bouquet. Finding a ribbon off of a random present next to her bed, she tied them all together, and then simply held them in her hand, admiring them. _What's wrong with me? I'm acting like a little girl in love._ She thought. And then, it hit her. She was acting like a girl in love, because she was in love. Or actually is in love. She sat for a second. Was she really in love with Michael Scofield? The man who had lied to her. The man who had used her? The man who had saved her from certain death for the third time? The man who cared for her so deliberately, even when she would shun him? _Yes._ She finally decided. _I am in love with Michael._ Smiling happily, she sat back and stared at the little bouquet in her hands. "I love Michael." She whispered to herself. It sounded really good. She jumped slightly when the door opened, and then looked towards it, expecting Michael. She smiled when she saw Michael, but the smile was short lived when she saw who was behind him. Mr. Collins walked in, holding a big bouquet of red roses. Michael had walked back over to her side and sat back down in the chair. He was mad at Mr. Collins, but couldn't let it show. Mr. Collins handed the bouquet to Sara with a flourish.

"Here you are." He said. "How are you feeling?" he asked, giving the flowers to Sara. She smiled faintly in reply. "Thanks." She said, grabbing the flowers and putting them on the table next to her bed. She still hadn't let go of the little bunch of origami flowers, and Michael saw this. He was happy. But the happiness was short lived. He had to tell Sara something. And it probably wasn't going to make her happy. Sara remembered that Mr. Collins had asked her how she was feeling, so she added a fast "I'm good," before stealing a glance at Michael. He had his head in his hands. "Are you alright?" she asked him. He slowly raised his head and nodded. "I, uh, well I have to go out of town…for the week. To Washington." He told her. Sara's face fell completely. "Oh." Was all she said. Mr. Collins noticed their little exchange, and decided to intervene.

"You know, Sara, I was wondering, well…would you like to go out to dinner with me on Friday night?" he smiled at her. Sara still didn't smile. And she didn't answer. Mr. Collins started looking nervous.

"Sara?" he asked. Michael watched, praying silently that she wouldn't say yes. She finally looked at him. "I don't think that's such a good idea. You see," she grabbed Michael's hand in hers and entwined their fingers, "I'm already kind of attached to someone else." She glanced at Michael. He was staring at her with a smile. Mr. Collins looked on angrily. Without another word, he left.

"When do you have to leave?" she asked him quietly. Michael brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it gently.

"Right now." He said sadly. "Did you mean it?" he asked her. She let out a little chuckle. "I'm still holding your hand, aren't I?" she asked him. Michael's face broke out into a huge smile. Letting go of her hand, he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her. She wrapped her arms around him, and held onto him tightly. "You can stay in my apartment if you want. That way, you don't have to stay in yours." He said, stroking her hair.

"I would like that." She said. Her head was buried in his chest, and he smelled really good. This truly was the one place that she felt most safe in: his arms. He relinquished his grip slightly, as did she, and they stared into each others eyes. Michael slowly lowered his head, until their foreheads were touching, then, still looking into her eyes, closed the gap between them, in a short, simple kiss.

"I have to go." He said, regret evident in his voice. "I'll call you." He slowly disentangled himself from Sara, and stood up.

"See you in five days." Sara told him sadly. She didn't want him to go. He leaned down and placed one more kiss on her lips. Debating on whether or not to say something, he decided not too, and then walked towards the door. He didn't want to scare her off. But then again, he wanted to say it to her face, so that she would no that he cared for her more than the average couple did. So stopping before he left, he turned around.

"I love you, Sara." He said. Then he turned around and left.

Sara sat in shock for a few seconds, then smiled to herself. _So he loves me too_. She thought. Sara stared at the door he had just disappeared out of.

"I love you too, Michael." She said quietly.

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	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

When Sara was released from the hospital, she went straight to Michael's apartment and lied down on his bed. She had no idea she would miss him this much. Hell, it had only been three hours since she had last seen him. But still, she missed him terribly. Lying on his bed, she could smell him. His masculine and intoxicating scent. Burying her face in his pillow, she inhaled deeply, his scent making her regret the time she spent "hating" him. She laughed bitterly to herself. Of course, the one time she actually lets him get close to her, he has to leave. How ironic. She had kept his shirt on as well. That way she smelled like him.

"My God, I'm obsessed." She said to herself. Getting up off the bed, she went to the bathroom to examine the damage that Theo had done to her. Her face was slightly bruised, and that was basically it. Thanking Michael silently to herself, she started exploring his apartment. She looked at the many pictures that he had placed neatly around the place; pictures of him with LJ, him and Veronica, him and Lincoln; there was even a picture of their little group at Michael's business party. She smiled as she looked at it. She turned to the next picture, and her smile widened. It was of her and Michael, candid, and at his business party as well, but they were both laughing and smiling at each other. She picked it up and stared at it for a while. She couldn't help but think of how stupid she was for never letting them be together for as long as she did. Lost in her thoughts, she jumped when she heard the phone ring. Hesitantly she answered it.

"Hello?"

"…My God, you do not know how good it is to hear your voice." She heard Michael say. "I miss you." Sara smiled to herself.

"I miss you too. You have no idea how much I miss you." She told him. Michael sighed happily, but then turned sad. "Sara, I have to tell you something. And I don't think your going to like it." Fear gripped Sara's insides. He was going to break up with her, even though they weren't technically going out. But she knew that is what he was going to say.

"What?" she asked breathlessly.

"I…I have to stay longer, than the um, than the week. Mr. Collins is making me stay the entire month." He waited a few seconds, and not hearing a reply from Sara, he continued. "I'm so sorry, baby." Sara felt a warming sensation in the pit of her stomach at the new name he had chosen for her, but it left when she was left with the though of not being able to see Michael for an entire month. Realizing that she had been quiet for way too long, she finally answered.

"It's because I chose you over him, isn't it?" she asked quietly. Without waiting for an answer, she continued. "It's alright." An idea started forming in her mind. Instead of waiting an entire month to wait for him, she could go down and see him, and spend the month with him. She decided to surprise him. "As long as you call me, and I know how your doing, and that you miss me as much as I miss you." She smiled. She was going to be seeing him a whole lot sooner than he thought. "just give me your hotel and the number and everything, so I can call you." _And come up and see you_. She added to herself. Michael was relieved. She wasn't mad at him. He quickly told her the name of the hotel, and the room number he was in.

"Oh you have no idea how hard this is going to be." Michael told her. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"I'm going to miss you too. I cant wait till I can see you." She said quietly.

"Well, listen. We're having some stupid dinner party thing that I have to go to, so, I'll call you later?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course." There was a short silence.

"I'll talk to you later, Sara…I love you." Without waiting for a response, he hung up the phone.

"Damnit, Michael, if you would just wait a second, I could tell you I love you too." She told the quiet receiver. Sighing, she hung up the phone, and then picked it right back up and dialed the airport. "I guess it's better to tell someone you love them to their face, first, anyways." She told herself. Smiling slightly, she gave the lady on the phone all the information for a flight for that night. She wanted to get on the soonest plane to Michael. She pushed him away for too long. It was time to come crawling, or in her place, leaping back.

Sara walked into the airport with no luggage whatsoever. She figured that she could just buy all new stuff when she got to Michael. And because she had no luggage, the security measures put forth were a breeze to go through. When she got to her seat on the plane, she sat back and relaxed, anticipating the time when she would get to see Michael. She could almost feel his arms around her, and she definitely could not wait to have that feeling around her again. She smiled at the thought of his reaction when she told him that she loved him. _He would probably be ecstatic_, she thought. _I know I am._ Sighing happily, she closed her eyes and let sleep overcome her on the plane ride over to Washington…to Michael.

Michael sighed in frustration. He couldn't get a hold of Sara. She wasn't answering any phones; he wanted to tell her that he had changed his hotel room, because Mr. Collins wanted his. He sighed again in defeat and picked up the phone, determined to get a hold of her, even if it took all night.

Sara awoke with a start when the plane gently touched down. Something about planes made her sleep like a baby. She got off and looked in her purse for her phone, only to remember that she had left it charging on Michael's kitchen counter. Laughing at her stupidity, she made her way to the hotel that he was staying at. Luckily it was within walking distance from the hotel. Opening the doors, she stepped into the warm and welcoming hotel, and went straight to the elevators. She had memorized his room number by heart, on the way to the airport. Stepping inside of one, she pushed the number five, and waited for the elevator to take her to the designated floor. Once the doors opened, she started searching for Michael's room number. Finally she found it. She took a minute to steady her breathing, and then knocked on the door. She heard footsteps, and then the lock on the door unlocking. Then the door swung open.

And her face fell. Mr. Collins was standing there, and looked shocked to see Sara, but quickly changed his face to look pleasantly surprised.

"Ah, Sara. You're here for Michael aren't you?" he asked her. She didn't even answer him. She just mutely nodded. Staring at her, he said, "why don't you come in? I think we need to have a talk." She rolled her eyes, knowing it was rude but not caring. "I think that we can talk right out here." She said evenly. Mr. Collins sighed. "Very well."

"You know," he started, "Michael really loves his job." He stopped for a second, looking at Sara. She was just staring at him. She didn't see how this was relevant. "I was thinking about firing him. I can't very well have a man who's better than me working for me." He smiled slightly at Sara's shocked look.

"You cant just fire a man because he's better than you?" she said exasperatedly. Mr. Collins chuckled sinisterly. "Well, that's where you're wrong, unless…" he trailed off.

"Is there something that I can do?" she asked. She wouldn't let Michael lose a job that he loved just because his boss was a jackass.

"As a matter of fact, there is." He paused. "You see, there's another company dinner tomorrow night, and, well, I need a date. The men who have been in charge of this firm have always had a date, and I cannot break that tradition." He paused again. Sara's face grew wary. She knew where this was heading. "That's where you come in. You will be my date tomorrow night. You will hold my hand when grab it. You will let me put my arm around you waist." He smirked. "You will let me kiss you when I want to." He smiled in his evil smiley way. "And you don't tell Michael. Anything." Sara's face turned white.

"I can't do that." She said.

"Well than I guess I'll just have to fire him now, wont I?" he asked her. "If you really loved him, you would do this for him." He added as an afterthought. It was the icing on the cake. There was no way she would say no now. Sara dropped her head in defeat and nodded.

"Good." He said. "You will go and get a room. You will not go and see Michael. Tomorrow night, you will come down here at 7:30pm sharp. You will wear a fancy dress. Screw this up, and Michael is going bye-bye." He smirked. "Goodnight, Sara." He shut the door in her face. Sara closed her eyes in disbelief. Something was always keeping them apart. Slowly opening them, she walked back towards the elevator and went back to the first floor. Once she got her room, she went up to it, and sat on the bed. She slowly leaned back on it and fell asleep. Her dreams were full of nightmares where Michael hated her, and he left her. Or she dreamed of how hurt he was going to be when he saw her and Mr. Collins together. She cried numerous times in her sleep, and when she woke up, she had dried tear streaks down her face. She dreaded today.

"Please forgive me tonight, Michael. Don't walk away from me. Please." She pleaded to the empty room.

"Please…don't take him away from me."

Sara finally got out of bed after hours of contemplating what Michael would do once he saw her that night. She half-heartedly got ready and made her way down to the lobby. She had to buy a dress for the evening. Getting to the lobby, she froze. Michael and a group of his associates were talking animatedly and laughing together. Though in Michael's eyes, she could detect a hint of worry. They all left and got into a limo that was parked outside. Michael stayed behind a little and took out his cell phone. Placing it to his ear, he listened, and then frowned. Closing his eyes and rubbing his head, he finally followed his colleagues, and Sara was left alone again. She missed Michael so much. She lifted her arm and brought it to her face, surprised to feel the wetness that only tears could bring. Pulling herself together, she left the hotel. The sooner she got this over with, the sooner, hopefully, she could be with Michael.

The day flew by. Pretty soon, Sara was making her way out of her hotel room, and back down to the fifth floor to meet Mr. Collins. Taking a deep breath, she exited the elevator, and was surprised to see Michael waiting in front of his boss's room. She stopped dead in her tracks. Michael hadn't seen her, for as soon as she had stepped out of the elevator, Mr. Collins stepped out of his apartment. Shaking Michael's hand, he looked towards where Sara stood.

"Ah, Sara. Glad to see you could make it." He said silkily. Michael's head shot up immediately. He instantly smiled and walked over to her, reaching for her hands.

"I've been calling you for ages. Why haven't you answered?" he asked her, kissing her cheek. Before she could answer, Mr. Collins spoke up.

"Uh, Michael? I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to step away from my date." He walked up to them. Michael immediately dropped her hands and took a step back.

"…date?" he asked, hurt already smudging his beautiful features.

"That's right." He offered his arm to Sara, and she took it, unwillingly. "Let's get going, shall we?" Mr. Collins started force guiding her down the hall, and after a second, Michael followed, only with slower sadder steps. Sara fought to keep back tears. She had hurt him, deeply.

Earlier in the day, Michaels POV

Michael met his colleagues in the hallway, and they all went down to the lobby, waiting for the limo to arrive. He couldn't help but think of Sara. She hadn't answered his house phone, her house phone, or her cell phone. Lincoln had gone over to his apartment and noticed that she had left her phone on his kitchen counter, but that she had taken her purse. He was still worried though. And he missed her, terribly. She was all he thought about. And now that they were finally given a chance to have a relationship, he wanted to see her more than ever. Finally the limo arrived, but Michael hung back a little. He tried his apartment again, and frowned when there was no answer, yet again. Sighing, he followed his colleagues out the door. His day was filled with many calculations, designs, and heated arguments about structure, but finally, the time for another stupid dinner party arrived. He found these things to be annoying. He would much rather spend his time alone, trying to call Sara, and hopefully being able to talk to her. He got ready quickly, and then opened his door and waited for Mr. Collins, his thoughts still on Sara. They had been on her all day long. She was all he though about. Suddenly, Mr. Collins opened his door.

"Michael." He said, grabbing his hand and shaking it.

"Mr. Collins." He said, nodding his head. Mr. Collins turned his head to the side. "Ah Sara. Glad to see you could make it." Michael jerked his head up. And stared for a split second. His mouth broke into a huge smile, and then he immediately walked over to her and grabbed her hands. She looked scared, but he overlooked it.

"I've been calling you for ages. Why haven't you answered?" he asked her, leaning down to kiss her cheek. He missed being able to do that. Sara opened her mouth to answer, but Mr. Collins beat her to it.

"Uh, Michael? I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to step away from my date." Mr. Collins said, walking up to Sara's side. It took a moment for his words to sink in, but when they did, he dropped her hands and took a step back. He tried not to look hurt, but it wasn't working.

"…date?" he asked her. She was breaking his heart, all over again. Sara was staring at him, but before anything else could happen, Mr. Collins had offered Sara his arm, and she had taken it. "Let's get going, shall we?" he asked, taking her away and leading her to the elevator. Michael stood in his place for a few seconds, then slowly followed, keeping his head down. Stepping into the elevator, he went to the far corner of the elevator, getting as far away from them as he possibly could. He still kept his head down, trying to ignore Mr. Collins whispering to Sara. This was worse then Sara hating him after he had broken out of Fox River. Much worse.

Sara POV

The look on Michael's face was embedded in her mind. She could only hope that he would let her explain. In the elevator, Michael had distanced himself from them, keeping his head down and clutching the railings of the elevator so hard that his knuckles were turning white. Mr. Collins leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"Remember, one word, and he is fired. Plus, I'll add on something to the police about him hitting me, and then he can go back to Fox River."

Sara nodded mutely, her eyes cast on Michael. Feeling Mr. Collins fingers on the small of her back, she allowed him to lead her out of the elevator. She prayed with all her might that this night would end quickly, so that way she could go home. She would rather be miles away from Michael then hurt him like she knew he was hurting. Turning around, she saw that Michael was gazing at her; his eyes were bright and watery, and she could feel tears in her eyes just looking at him.

"I'm sorry." She mouthed to him, and then turned back around, quickly wiping her eyes with her hand. She didn't know if she could last the night with Michael like this. In fact, she knew she couldn't. She was going to tell him. Tonight. Sure, Michael may hate her for making him lose his job, but it was better than him thinking that she was just playing with his heart. Feeling a little better, but not a whole lot, she let Mr. Collins lead her to the awaiting limo with all his colleagues, hoping that there would be a time where she could slip away and talk to Michael.

She loved him. And she would do anything to make him see that.

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	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Michael sat secluded and away from everyone in his limo seat. He was thoroughly depressed. The only image that kept replaying in his head was the one of Sara and Mr. Collins walking off arm in arm. It killed him. He stared out the window. _And I thought that she cared for me._ He thought. He scoffed quietly. Figures. The only person that cares for him is my family. He stared out the window without seeing anything, then he glanced at Sara. She was laughing at something that one of his co-workers said. He continued to stare at her, and noticed that although she was laughing and smiling, it looked forced. Her face looked strained, and after she everyone stopped talking to her, her face went to this sad, heartbroken one. She glanced over to him, and he held it for a second, before turning his attention back towards the window. But his head started working. Something was wrong. And he'd be damned if he didn't find out what.

Sara slowly got out of the limo when it stopped in front of the restaurant. The look on Michael's face broke her heart again and again. Every time she saw it, she felt a great foreboding feeling in the pit of her stomach. She could only pray that she would be able to corner him that night, and explain everything.

They took their seats at the fancy table, Sara next to Mr. Collins, who was at the head, and Michael all the way at the other end from them. They all ordered their food, and when it came, Michael just poked at it, not feeling hungry at all. He really wanted to talk to Sara, but she hadn't got up to leave at all yet. _Maybe she would follow me_, he thought. So he excused himself, and went to stand outside. It had started raining, hard. Michael stared at it, fascinated. It reflected his mood perfectly. The drops were whole, until they shattered on the ground, the drops of water exploding on impact. Just like his heart when he saw Sara and Mr. Collins together. He chanced a glance back inside. Sara was still sitting there, and Mr. Collins was talking to her. She nodded and went back to poking at her food. Knowing that she wasn't going to get up and come and talk to him, he sighed dejectedly and made his way back to his seat. He looked at her face, and she looked distraught. The mindless chatter around him was making him angry. How could they possibly be happy when he was so miserable? Dinner couldn't end soon enough, and they all got up and went back to the limo. Sitting back in the same seat, he continued to stare out the window, completely oblivious to the people around him. He didn't even feel Sara's gaze upon him. She had tried so hard to get up and leave the table when Michael had got up, but Mr. Collins threatened her even more. So she was forced to ignore Michael, and his sad and depressed expression. She was on the verge of tears the entire time during dinner, and they threatened to spill over in the limo, but somehow, she was able to keep her resolve. Back at the hotel, Michael walked behind the entire group, not paying attention to anything. Sara kept glancing back at him, but he was seemingly oblivious to the looks that she was trying to give him. She decided that she was going to go to his hotel room after Mr. Collins went back to his room. That way, she would be able to talk to him. Up at his room, Mr. Collins pulled her forward forcefully and kissed her. Michael saw this and sped up and went into his room, slamming his door. Sara pushed him back immediately, and ran up to her room to change and come back down to Michael's room.

In his room, Michael stood against the door and slowly slid down it, his breathing shaky. He rubbed his head in his hands, but stood up quickly when there was a knock on his door. He composed himself, and then opened it, hoping, but not expecting it to be, Sara. And of course, when he opened his door, it was none other than his good friend Tim.

"Hey Tim." Michael said, halfheartedly.

"Hey. Are you alright? You were really out of it at dinner." Tim asked with concern. Michael paused for a second. "Yea…yea I'm fine. Hey listen, you want to rent a movie or something?" he asked him, forcing a smile.

"Yea, sure." He said. He was concerned about Michael. He had never seen him like this.

"Great. I'm just going to take a quick shower." Without waiting for a response, Michael went into the bathroom and locked his door. Breathing out, he quickly undressed and got in, letting the hot water soothe his troubled mind.

Sara made her way quickly to Michael's door. Taking a second to compose herself, she lightly knocked on the door. Someone opened it, and he looked at her surprised.

"Hi. Is…is Michael here? I uh, I really need to talk to him." She asked him. Tim looked at her for a second. "Yea, yea sure. Hold on a sec." Tim left her at the door, and went over to the bathroom that Michael was in.

"Hey, Michael. Mr. Collins date is here to see you." He told him through the door. Michael sighed and rolled his eyes, mishearing what Tim had said. Couldn't that man ever leave him alone?

"Tell em' I don't want to talk to him right now." He called through the door, the shower muffling out his voice.

"Ok." Tim said to himself. He walked back over to Sara. "He said he doesn't want to talk to you right now." He told her. Sara's face fell dramatically.

"Oh. Al-alright. Tell him I'm sorry that I ever bothered him." She turned away and practically ran back to the elevator, tears streaming down her face. She had done it. Michael no longer wanted her. It was too good to be true, believing that someone actually cared for her. She walked through the lobby of the hotel with her head down, hiding the tears that were still running down her face. She left the hotel and walked outside. It was still pouring rain, but she didn't care. She walked around slowly, and eventually came to a park. It had a little bench, so she sat down on it, the rain drenching her clothes. She shivered. It was freezing outside. But she didn't care. She felt hollow. The only man that she had ever loved no longer wanted her. No one wanted her. She pulled her knees up to her chest and put her head on them, now completely sobbing. She hated her life. Simple as that. Everyone she let in left her. She lifted her head and looked towards the sky, letting the cool rain soothe her burning face. She would leave tomorrow morning. Go back to Chicago, and then move to California. Far away from Michael, and everyone else that reminded her of him.

Michael walked out of the shower, feeling slightly more relaxed, but still completely heartbroken.

"Dude, that girl that you didn't want to see…Mr. Collins date, she looked really sad." Tim told him when he walked into the mini living room. Michael stopped dead. "Sara was here? You told me it was Mr. Collins." He said, his face turning white. If it really was Sara, then he had told her to go away. Not really, but that's what she thought he said.

"No…I said it was Mr. Collins date. What did you do to her? She looked pretty distressed." Tim asked him. Not bothering to answer that, he ran over to the door and threw it open.

"Which way did she go?" he asked Tim. Tim pointed towards the elevator, and Michael took off. Getting to the elevator he paused. He had no idea which room she was in. He decided to go down to the lobby. Hopefully they would tell him. The elevator slowly pinged down, stopping at every floor. He grumbled angrily, and switched stances. He couldn't stand still. It finally reached the lobby, and he practically pushed everyone out of the way to get to the front desk.

"Did you see a redhead down here recently?" he asked the front desk. The man looked up lazily.

"Yea…yea I did. She went outside. She looked like she was crying." He told Michael. Michael's heart lurched. He had made her cry.

"Oh God. Did she have anything with her?" he asked urgently. The man went back to flipping through his magazine.

"Nah, man. She just walked outside. No jacket or anything. It's pouring outside." He shivered just thinking about it. Michael nodded.

"Thanks." He said, before taking off outside. He had to find her.

He ran outside, searching every inch that he could see, hoping that she would not have wandered far from the hotel. His heart sank when he didn't see her at all. Now he had a real problem. Noticing a park to his right, he decided to take his chances, and he ran off towards it. His heart lightened when he saw a lone figure with their knees curled up on a park bench. He walked closer, and sighed with relief upon seeing that it was Sara. He tentiveley walked closer towards her. Her shoulders were shaking, and it made his heart ache knowing that he had caused that.

"Sara." he said, reaching out to touch her shoulder. She jumped and spun around, then scrambled off the bench and away from his outstretched hand.

"What do you want?" she hissed. "Haven't you done enough?" She wrapped her arms around her shoulders. She was cold, and her clothes were soaked. Michael stood there for a second, shocked at how angry she was at him. Then the shock turned to pain. He took a step closer, and Sara took a matching step back. So they were back to how they were after he had broken out. He sighed.

"Why are you here, Sara?" he asked her. "To get with my boss right in front of me?" He regretted the words as soon as he said them. She just stared at him as a fresh onslaught of tears came forward and sniffled.

"You know, this is why I don't give my heart to people. They always smash it to pieces." She said fiercely. "I came here to see you. To tell you something, but now," she laughed sarcastically. "Good old me, falling for everything." Michael took a small step forward, feeling terrible about what he said.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." He said softly. She scoffed and took a step back, away from him.

"Michael, just drop the damn act. Everything with you is an act." She paused. "I really did come here to see you. Mr. Collins threatened me with your job if I wouldn't be his date." She turned and started walking away from him, again. But Michael wasn't having it.

"Sara…please. Wait." He ran after her and grabbed her arm, forcing her to turn around into his chest. "You did that…for me?" he asked her. He felt even more horrible than he already felt. She had tried to save his job, and he had made her feel like crap. Sara nodded.

"Yea. Y-you love your job. It made you happy, and I would rather go on a forced date with Mr. Collins than see you upset. And then I try to come and explain, and you don't even want to talk to me. I'm done. I'm done giving my heart to people who don't want it. I'm done loving someone who doesn't love me back." She told him. Again, she forced herself out of his grip and started walking away. Michael stood there shocked for a second. She did it because she loved him. His heart soared, but quickly came crashing back down when he realized that she was walking away again. Michael ran after her and grabbed arm, and turned her around, but this time grabbed both of her shoulders. She brought her hands to her chest and folded them, staring at the ground.

"Please, Sara, let me explain." He took a breath. "When you came up tonight, I thought that it was Mr. Collins. I misheard my friend. I would never turn down a chance to talk to you. And besides, I would rather have you than this job. Hell, I would rather have you than the best job in the world" He stopped for a second, staring at her face, which was deliberately turned down and away from his. But she hadn't tried to move. Michael took this as a good sign. He opened his mouth to talk again, but Sara beat him to it.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" she half-whispered to him, leaning her forehead down against his chest. Michael half smiled.

"Because," He put his hand underneath her chin and lifter her face up. "I'm in love with you Sara Tancredi." He stared into her eyes, letting her know that what he said was true. She stared back at him, and then it became too much. She broke down, and collapsed in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder. Michael just held her and rubbed her back. Finally, she calmed down. She felt like a weak little girl for breaking down the way she had, but she liked standing out in the rain with Michael. It may be cold, but he warmed her, all the way down to her toes. She turned her head to the side so that her face was facing his neck.

"Michael…" she started, then lifter her head up and stared him in the eyes. "I love you too. That's why I came to Washington. I came for you." She watched his facial expression. First it was shock, but that quickly disappeared to complete happiness.

"You mean it?" he asked, not daring to believe it incase he was hearing things. Sara smiled and nodded bashfully, rolling her eyes in the process.

"Yes, Michael Scofield. I am head over heels, struck by cupid's arrow, whatever you want to call it. But I am in love with you." She watched as his face turned even happier than before, then squealed as he picked her up and spun her around. She laughed happily, wrapping her legs around him and hanging on to him for dear life. He slowed down, but didn't relinquish his grip on her, and she didn't let go of him.

"You have no idea how happy you just made me." He said, staring at her, entranced by her beauty. The moon was behind her, making her glow, and even though she was soaking wet in a white wife-beater and gray sweatpants, and her eyes were red and her face tear streamed, she was beautiful. Sara reached down and closed the gab between them, kissing him with as much passion as she could muster. Michael eagerly returned it. Shifting his grip so that he could hold her with one hand, he brought his other hand up and tangled it in her hair. Leaving her mouth, he started trailing kisses down her neck, and she let her head fall back, breathing deeply. Sara brought her head back up and grabbing his head, made him come back up towards hers. The next kiss being even more passionate than the first, their tongues dancing inside each others mouths. They stood out there for a long time in the rain, kissing and holding each other. Finally Sara's chattering teeth stopped Michael.

"Come on, your cold. Lets go inside." Michael told her against her lips, kissing them between every few words. She nodded, and slowly unwrapped her legs from Michael. Standing up, she made no move to leave, perfectly happy to be standing in his arms, but Michael grabbed her hand, and entwining their ice cold fingers, led her back into the hotel. They made their way to the elevator, getting weird looks from the other guests and the people who worked there, but they paid no attention to them. Michael sighed in relief when the elevator doors opened, revealing no one, and Sara pushed the button to her floor. As soon as the elevator doors closed, Michael pounced back on Sara, grabbing her and pinning her against the elevator wall. Sara laughed, but the laughter quickly died down as she gave into Michael mouth. He tasted even better than he smelled. Slowly she lowered her hand and brought it under his shirt, feeling his well toned chest, and then brought it around to his upper back, leaving her hand there. They jumped when the elevator pinged open on Sara's floor, but made no move to untangle themselves from one another. Sara slowly led them towards her door, still kissing Michael,and reaching in her pockets, took out the key to unlock the hotel door. Kicking the door shut after them, he immediately put his hand under her shirt and placed them on her hips, rubbing light circles on them. That little feat drove her crazy, and she struggled trying to take off his t-shirt without ungluing their lips. Seeing as that wouldn't happen, Michael took his lips off hers for a second while she guided his t-shirt off of him.

"I love you." He whispered, then swooped down and kissed her passionately again. He brought his hands up higher under her shirt, then went back down to grab the edge and lift it off of her. Ungluing their lips again, he took off her shirt and threw it in the corner. "I love you." He whispered again. Sara reached up and locked their lips again, maneuvering him towards her bed. The rest of that night was given to showing how much Michael loved Sara, and Sara loved Michael.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Sara woke up the next morning with the sun streaming in her eyes and a warm body pressed under hers. Opening her eyes, she saw the inked chest of Michael and smiled remembering the night that they had shared. Michael shifted in his sleep, and unconsciously brought her naked body closer to his. She eagerly snuggled closer to him. She thought about what would have happened if Michael hadn't gone after her that night. She probably would have been back in Chicago and booking a one way ticket to California. Closing her eyes, she thought about how close she was to losing Michael. The thought scared her. She let herself imagine how it would be without him, or if he ever left her, and that scared her even more. Someone she loved finally loved her the way that she loved them. It wasn't just one sided. So if Michael ever left her…Her heart started beating faster._ What if Michael does leave me? What if this was a one time thing?_ A silent tear slipped out of her closed eye, and landed on Michael chest, waking him up. He glanced down and saw that it had been Sara's tear. Frowning, he stroked her hair.

"Sara…are you alright?" he asked her worriedly. Snapping her red rimmed eyes open, she glanced away from his stare, and said, "Yea, yea…I'm fine. Go back to sleep." She put her head back on his chest, hiding her face from his. Rolling his eyes at her stubbornness, Michael rolled over so that she was on her back and he was half on top of her.

"No, you're not fine. What's wrong?" he asked her again. She brought the sheet up protectively over her chest and looked away from his prying gaze.

"Are you…are you going to leave me?" she asked him in a small voice. She blinked furiously and glanced everywhere but at him. He half smiled. "Sara…look at me." She brought her eyes to his after a minute. "I have wanted you to be mine for so long…there is no way in hell that I'm going to leave you. You have nothing to worry about." He leaned down and kissed the tears that had started falling away, and then kissed her right between the eyes. Raising himself up a little, he looked her in the eyes and stroked her perfect stomach. "I love you…forever." He leaned down and kissed her mouth, and she reached up around his neck and kissed him back fervently. Pulling away slightly, she rested her forehead on his.

"I love you too, Michael…" she started. Michael waited for her to finish, and when she didn't, he prompted "but?" She giggled. "But you really need to brush your teeth." He laughed out loud, and then leaned down and kissed her again.

"But you like my smelly breath." He told her. She rolled her eyes. "Right." She said, before bringing his head down to hers and kissing him passionately. He rolled fully on top of her and ran his hands up her body. She angled herself under him, and then surprised him by flipping him over. She straddled him, and then leaned down and kissed him again, running her hands up his chest. Pulling back slightly for air, he grabbed her waist.

"I thought you didn't like my smelly breath." He said, giving her a charming smile.

"Shut up and kiss me." She told him smirking, before capturing his lips again. They didn't leave the bed for anther hour.

Michael was in the kitchen making coffee when his cell phone rang. Looking around for it, he found it thrown on the floor, and he answered it.

"Hey Veronica." He said after checking the caller id and answering it.

"Hey," she replied. "did Sara come to you?" she asked him.

"Yea…she did." He couldn't keep the smile off of his face, and he glanced towards the shower, where she currently was. "We're together now." He told her happily.

"God, finally." She told him. "Took her long enough to come to her senses." She said laughing. Michael laughed as well. "I'm just glad that she did." He told her. She smiled. Michael sounded so happy. "…Hey V, Sara asked me if I was going to leave her. Did she tell you anything about her past…or…" he didn't know how to finish the question. Veronica sighed.

"Yea…she did. She has this thing where she thinks that no one cares for her, and that no one will ever care for her. Her previous boyfriends used her, and her father abandoned her." She was silent for a minute, letting Michael take it all in. "Michael…just take care of her." Michael half smiled.

"You can bet on that." He said. They said their goodbyes, and Michael hung up his phone. Looking at the coffee pot that was currently brewing their coffee, he glanced towards the shower again. Making a decision, he headed towards the shower. He was going to show Sara just how much she meant to him…again.

Sara's face wore a beaming smile as she walked into the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee. She had never been happier in her life. Going to the refrigerator, she opened it and grabbed the carton of cream out of it, setting it on the counter. Raising her arms above her head, she stretched luxuriously, and then sighed angrily as a knock sounded on the door. Abandoning her coffee, she went to answer it, silently cursing the maids for coming so early. Pulling her robe tighter around herself and securing it tightly, she opened the door. And frowned even more when she saw who was at it.

"You know, Sara, it really is hard to track you down. It took a bribe for the front desk for them to give me you room number." Mr. Collins told her silkily. Sara rolled her eyes and scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Good. They must have seen how creepy you were." She told him. "What do you want?" she asked tiredly. Mr. Collins stared at her hungrily. Raising his hand, he went to touch her wet hair. Sara moved her head out of the way.

"Oh, you must know what I want." He smiled, and then continued. "I want…"

"To get the hell away from Sara and leave us alone." Said Michael, coming up from behind Sara. He wrapped his arms around her stomach and rested his head on her shoulder. Sara smiled and turned her head to kiss his cheek, wrapping her own arms around Michael's and interlocking their fingers. Mr. Collins looked from Sara to Michael and then back again to Sara.

"You know what this means…" he started to say. Letting go of Sara, Michael stepped in front of her. Raising his arm above him to rest on the door, he stared Mr. Collins down.

"Yea. We know exactly what this means. I sue you for all your worth, you lose your business, your company, yada yada yada, the whole nine yards." Michael told him, laughing silently to himself as Mr. Collins face turned paler and paler. He hadn't thought about that. Sara spoke up from behind Michael. "Why the hell did I not think of that?" she wondered aloud. Michael laughed and turned his head to face her.

"Because you loooove me." He said, drawing out the love to last longer than it was supposed to. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him from behind again. "You got that damn right." She said against his back. Turning back to Mr. Collins, his face hardened.

"You have two options: either you fire me and I sue you from here to Timbuktu…"he trailed off. Mr. Collins looked at him expectantly. "Or, I continue working here, until I make enough money to start my own firm, I don't sue you…and this whole big month long business trip you have planned…yea how 'bout that's finished. We all know that it was planned so that you would keep me away from Sara" He finished. Mr. Collins looked annoyed. He knew what he had to do, but it pissed him off that he had to do it. "What'll it be, Mr. Collins. Option one or option two?" Michael probed, inwardly smirking because he knew what option he was going to choose.

"Pack your bags…we're going home." Mr. Collins said angrily. He stalked off, Michael watching him leave, and when the elevator doors had shut behind him, Michael burst into laughter, Sara quickly following suite. Turning around, he shut the door with his foot, and grabbed Sara and held her.

"Love you." He told her against her hair. She smiled against his chest and tightened her grip around his neck.

"Love you too." She told him, kissing his shoulder. Pulling back slightly, she got lost in his eyes. "Come on," she said finally, "lets pack up and go home."

The plane ride home seemed very short; maybe because they had both fallen asleep. Sara had found Michaels shoulder to be very comfortable, and the moment she had sat down and rested her head against it, she had fallen asleep. Michael had had his arm around Sara, and try as he might, he couldn't stay awake either. He had rested his head on her hair, and inhaling the scent of her shampoo, had fallen asleep. Another passenger had found the little scene of them adorable, and so she had taken a picture of them. When she showed the picture to Sara and Michael when the plane had landed and they had woken up, they immediately wanted it, and the lady promised to email it to them. Making their way to their car, they drove to their apartment building, holding each others hands the entire time.

Frank Tancredi walked over to his daughters apartment room number. His sources had told him that she had moved, and that this is where she was staying now. Fixing his tie, he knocked on her door, and sighed angrily when she didn't answer. Putting his ear to the door, he heard no noise whatsoever. Sitting at the strategically placed sitting bench located next to her apartment, he waited. It was time to make amends with his one and only daughter. Hearing a man and a woman walking down the hallway, he looked up, and

Was surprised to see Sara walking with another man.

Sara laughed at something Michael had said, and he grinned at her stupidly. He gazed at her.

"You know what?" he asked.

"What?" she replied.

"You're beautiful." Sara blushed. "Oh, Michael, stop it."

"What?" he questioned, and then he burst out into song. "You're beautiful. You're beautiful. You're beautiful, it's true." He sang to her. Sara blushed even more, and then laughed.

"Don't go all James Blunt on me." She told him, her cheeks still rosy.

"Well, James Blunt happens to sing some songs that go very well with this situation." He told her, grinning like an idiot.

"Oh really?" she questioned. "Like what?" Walking a bit slower than Sara, he walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, slipping his hands under her shirt to rest on her stomach.

"Like 'I love you, I swear that's true…I cannot live without you.'" He sang quietly in her ear, but nevertheless, it bounced around the empty hallways. Sara immediately tensed, and grabbed Michaels hands and took them out of her shirt. Michael was confused.

"Sara?" he questioned, scared that what he had sang to her had scared her in some way. Seeing that Sara was staring at something, he followed her gaze, and gulped when he noticed Mr. Tancredi.

"Hi…Dad." She said quietly.

"Sara…who's that?" he asked her. He had a sneaking suspicion that he knew who this man was.

"That's…my boyfriend. Michael." She said even more quietly. Frank closed his eyes and counted to ten. Upon opening them, he looked at Michael again.

"Michael, as in Michael Scofield?" Michael nodded, and moved to stand next to Sara, placing his hand on the small of her back and rubbing slow circles.

"You mean to tell me…that you are going out with an ex-convict. The one that robbed a bank, and then broke out of prison and was on the run for five months?" he asked, anger dripping off of every word. Sara slowly nodded. Frank was angry. Very angry. He walked up to her, and Sara watched him scared. Raising his hand, he slapped her on the cheek. Sara's face turned to the side, and stayed that way, her hair blanketing her face. Michael instantly became angry. Stepping in front of Sara, he faced down her father.

"I can't allow you to do that." He told him, with as much respect as he could muster for being so angry. Frank moved closer to him.

"Stay away from my daughter." He told him, and then left the hallway. Before stepping into the elevator, he threw one last menacing glance towards Michael, and then the elevator doors shut behind him. Immediately turning to Sara, he turned her face to face him, and upon seeing the angry red slap mark and the hurt tears in her eyes, he didn't know which emotion to feel first. Angry, or heartbroken. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her, kissing her hair and whispering countless "I'm sorry's" in her ear. Grabbing her hand, and letting go of her, he brought them to his apartment, letting go of her hand to shut the door.

"Michael…" she started quietly. He turned to face her. She looked scared and hurt.

"…don't leave me." She pleaded. Feeling tears in his own eyes starting to well up, he went up to her and took her in his arms.

"Never."


End file.
